Newfound Hero: Soul Eater Hiro x OC
by ThyRoyalLady
Summary: Hiro's only wish is to have a partner and be like the rest of his class. As he mopes about it, a new student arrives at the DWMA. RATED MATURE FOR LATER CHAPTERS! YAOI ALERT!
1. Ch 1 - Transfer Student

It was just too easy; almost laughable. It happens every day, yet he is blind to it when they say, "You're the only one who can do it." or, "We need you to do it." and even, "Please and thanks." yet he is blind to it until he realizes at the back of the lunch line the students who pleaded for his help only wanted him to buy them food.

Yet he is used to it and powers through. After all, somebody's got to do it. That ended up turning into his philosophy. He finds it easier to say he will go get lunch then argue why the people asking can not get it or if he is in the middle of doing something.

"You're the only one who can do it, Hiro."

"We need you to do it, Hiro."

"Please and thanks, Hiro."

He sighed because he already knew it was going to be another one of those days like the day before and the day before that.

"Good morning, Hiro!"

That was a new line. He stopped and turned. Maka waved at him from her seat on the higher rows. Soul was next to her, taking a power nap before the first bell. Crona made an effort and waved a shaky hand. Kind and considerate Maka was often the only one to greet him without a request to give. He waved back and continued up the stairs to his seat. He likes where he sits because the space to his right was next to the stairs and was always empty for him to kick up his feet and get comfortable.

More students piled in the classroom the closer the arm on the clock reached the due time for the first bell. The bell soon rang and students not yet sitting sat in their designated areas. Stein went down each row of students, seeing who was present and absent. There was a slight satisfaction in him to see all students present.

"How nice." he said aloud to the class. "It's one of those full move days, isn't it? Great way to start the day, so be sure to not ruin it..." he paused. "Black Star."

People in the front row snickered. Black Star completely missed the joke and stoop in his seat to protest.

"Me? Hah! I make everyone's day with my presence! Everyday's a great day with Black Star!"

"Sit down or it's detention." said Stein. Black Star stopped ranting and jumped off his spot to sit.

"Like I was saying," Stein continued in a humorous tone. "how nice it is to see all of my students here. I forgot how little room there is. I don't know if there will be enough room for our new student."

Did they hear that right? _New student_? They certainly heard him right.

"I suppose one of you will have to go to make room for one more." said Stein. "I'm in need of a volunteer for an experiment I've been working on at home. Who wants to spend the night?"

He twisted the bolt in his head until it clicked. He had that look in his eyes when he is serious. Half of the class shivered and he laughed.

"No, no," he chuckled. "no need to lose a kid yet. Lord Death has decided to bless our classroom with a new face. He has placed a transfer student with us."

It had been a long time since the DWMA had a transfer student in the middle of the semester. Students chattered about this transfer student. Stein snapped his fingers a few times to regain their attention.

"Alright, alright, let's not get carried away." he said. "That's about as far as my knowledge of the kid expands. They'll be here first thing Monday morning. All of you need to set an example of what we stand for, because we know that there are certain people who will make them think the exact opposite of what we are."

He made a brief glance towards Black Star then began class.

Lunch at the DWMA offers students a chance for freetime to either leave for food or take what the academy has to offer. Some find it easier to bring a lunch if they have class of the opposite side of the building from where lunch is served. Some put up with the walk across the school if hungry enough. Others learned that if they ask Hiro and say he is the only one to complete the task, they do not have to move.

He did not know why it bothered him none to run these types of errands. He supposes there is no other way to get o spend his freetime, since he rarely ate lunch himself. He needs to get some exercise in his day. He is not a meister... well, not officially, to say the least. If he had the accompany of a weapon, he could participate in training and start collecting souls like his classmates. He used to be a meister, but that didn't even last a week. He didn't know WHAT he was thinking when he had Excalibur. When he now thinks about it, he was annoying, not to mention gross with the sneezing. It was not bothersome to him about still not having a weapon, but he wishes to have one just to be like everyone else.

He made it through the school day and was releaved to go home. He walked down the steps of the school with his hands in his pockets. There was a small rock at the foot of the steps. When he was at the bottom, he kicked the rock and watched it roll down the street. He passed it, but it was out of kicking range, so he let it be. His apartment was not far, but at his walking speed it was a little while until he was home. He put a hand on the front door knob and twisted it.

"Hey, Hiro!"

He turned around. Maka waved from across the street. Soul was opening the front door to the apartment complex they lived in. Meister and weapon were walking hand in hand. When he moved, she followed to enter the building with him. Crona was right behind with Ragnarok beating the back of his head. Hero smirked once at the scene then went inside.

His apartment was the same as other students', only his had no family pictures or letters from home. He liked Maka and Soul's home more from the one time she invited him to dinner. He felt that atmosphere that had the feeling a home should have. There was love and acceptance everywhere he looked, and the residents gave him those same characteristics (except for poor Crona and Ragnarok). He liked the hominess and the meal he was given. It felt like they were happy, and he envied them.

He jumped in the shower then sat on the couch to watch the news. He had made chocolate milk and drank it through a straw. He stayed up until ten at night before calling it a day. Thank Death for it being Friday. He had the long weekend to recover. He could sleep in and walk around the apartment without a shirt and channel scroll through the stations for entertainment. He deserved this; he needed it more than he thought.

Most kids ruin their sleep schedules over the weekend and are screwed Monday. Hiro is relatively the opposite and tries to stay consistent by going to bed between ten and eleven every night. It's not the best strategy, considering he wakes up at five to watch anime, but it was better than nothing. It proves to be beneficial the following Monday morning when most are sluggish from a rough night.

He walked into class and took his seat and kicked his feet up on the empty space next to him. He got comfortable and watched more students walk in the room and up the steps to their seats. He took the time to play with the studded collar around his neck. He straightened it when he was done playing and leaned back with his arms crossed.

Stein looked around the rows of children. All were present as they were last week, except for Kid, but he was with his father, so it was an acception. It made him wonder how it was possible to have a full class two school days in a row, and the second day was after the weekend. Nonetheless, he was mildly amused.

"Good morning, class." he said. "As you should remember from Friday, I said that we are having a transfer student."

Those about to fall asleep woke up to the reminder. A few wondering eyes scanned the rows to find the new face, but no unfamiliar face was amongst them.

"They should be speaking with Lord Death right now," said Stein. "but they'll be in here shortly. I think I'll be generous and give you kids study time before they get here. Some of you need it."

Hiro glanced at the counter before him. His journals and textbooks sat in a neat pile. It was just out of reach, so it could not be bothered. He crosed his legs and flicked his tie to the side to keep ot out of his arms. His shoulder became his pillow and he was at maximum relaxation.

Ten minutes into the silence, there was a knock at the door. Kid entered the room and held the door for another to enter. Everyone stopped at watched the reaper approach Stein with the stranger. Shein turned in his chair to better see the new face.

"Hello there!" he politely greeted the face. "You must be the transfer student. Thanks for bringing him in, Kid."

All eyes were on the transfer student. It was a boy. A young man would be more accurate due to his physic. His black shirt was a little snug on the body. It was a recognizable shirt from one of Death City's stores with a Death skull on the front. His neck bared a spiked collar that could pike holes in someone. A chain hung from the collar with a silver cross hanging from it over his shirt collar. His jeans were gray with black patches over the knees. His black sneakers were brand new as no smudge of dirt laced the white soles. None of that were head turners. A lot of the attention went towards his face. There was nothing really wrong with his face. In fact, his face was handsome. His skin was the right light tan. His chin was perfectly curved at the corners to shape a nice jawline. Following his jawline up to his head was rich red hair like a ripe cherry. His right side was flipped out, yet his left side was flat. He had parted bangs that covered some of his left eyebrow and eye. They were sharp eyes... er, eye. It was only one eye visible. Its right neighbor was covered with a black eye patch. That was what they were staring at so much. The eye they could see was sharp at the corners. A red pupil ripe like his hair looked around at the class. He saw some girls pointing and whispering behind their hands. A few of them waved, but he returned no gestures. His hand were in his pockets as Stein talked to him. His eyes shot daggers at those staring. He quickly became intimidating to the point of internal fear in the stomach.

"Welcome to Death City and the Death Weapon Meister Academy." said Stein to the boy. "I'm your teacher, Dr. Franken Stein."

He held out his hand. The new student took his right hand out of his pocket and shook the doctor's hand. Black, one-inch claws poked his wrist as he gripped it in his strong fist.

"Thank you for bringing him, Kid." said Stein. "You can go sit down now."

Kid went to sit in the higher rows with Liz and Patty.

"Why don't you introduce yourself to your new classmates?" Stein suggested to the newbie. The kid was hesitant, but a second later he opened his mouth to speak. His voice was raspy on the first word, but it soon cleared to be smoother. It was deep like a bass and still a tad rapsy, but not in a terrible way.

"My name is Spike Coda," he said. "and thank you for having me."

"It's an honor to have you. Where did you fly from, Spike?" asked Stein.

"Hong Kong," Spike answered. "which is in _China_, by the way."

The light humor made Stein crack a smile.

"Then may I ask why you have a Japanese surname?"

"My family is Japanese." he said. "We moved from Japan to Hong Kong about five years ago."

"You're a bit of ways from home." said Stein. "How has your stay been since arriving?"

"Very nice." said Spike. "The people who brought me here have been nice to me since I got off the plane."

"I'm glad you seem to like it here." said Stein. "You've also come on a very good day because we're going to review what we've learned so far for a test. I won't make you take it, but since you're here, you may as well pay attention, right?"

"I suppose."

"Good." Stein nodded. "Now, why don't you go sit somewhere... Let's see... There--fourth row right on the outside. Go have a seat next to Hiro."

Hiro sat straighter as the student walked up the steps. He had to remove his feet from the empty space and sit normal. The newbie looked at Hiro as he sat down next to him. Hiro tried to be polite and did a tiny wave at the student.

"How you doing?" he asked him. He got no verbal reply. The boy waved just as tiny and turned to face the teacher.

"Now then," said Stein to the class. "as I just relayed to our fellow classmate, today is a review day for the test of Friday. Everyone please open your books to chapter twelve and begin working on the review questions. I'll have to get you a book later, Spike, so please remember to remind me after class. For now, you can share with someone near you."

Hiro pulled his textbook out from under his pile of stuff and opened it in his lap. There was sharp poking on his right arm.

"Can I also look at your book?" Spike asked.

"Oh, yeah, I don't mind." said Hiro. He placed his book on the counter and slid it between him and the asker.

"What's the chapter over?" Spike asked.

"The science of soul consumption." said Hiro. "You're not being tested over it, so dont worry if you don't understand something."

It was an adjustment to share a textbook and wait for the person sharing to be finish taking notes. It gave Hiro time to take extra notes. Then there were questions that would seem idiotic to a DWMA student, but everyone needed to remember he was new and knew nothing of what they were learning. It was funny to Hero. The kid was not as frightening as he thought. He was merely curious on subjects and honest-sounding in his words.

They worked on the chapter until the end of class. Hiro took back his book and piled his stuff over it and carried it out of the classroom. He saw the new guy talking with Kid, Liz, and Patty against the wall in the hall outside the classroom. Kid was his guide to classes amd Liz and Patty were along for the ride. Spike saw the boy behind Kid amd waved. He waved in return and hurried along. It was a different day for him because he was hungry and wanted lunch, so he rushed to the other side of the school before people could stop him with demands.


	2. Ch 2 - Patience

He hasn't eaten in the cafeteria in some time. Not many seats were normally open. The outsides tended to be open for takes. That was where he sat for an uninterrupted meal. He had bought a grilled cheese wrapped neatly in parchment paper and a cherry soda to drink. Not much, but filling.

He looked around the room at students standing in the lunch line. At the front of the line was Kid and the new student Spike. The Thompson sisters stood by the side drinking lemonades in wait for the boys. Kid carried his and Spike's lunches and looked for a place to sit. Spike gazed around and caught sight of the empty seats around Hiro. Hiro glanced at Kid, who was taking too long to find a place to sit. He gestured a wave for him to come sit. Spike tapped Kid's shoulder to get his attention. Kid saw Hiro and went over to him with the girls following.

"Thanks, Hiro." said Kid as he placed their lunches on the table. Liz and Patty sat on Hiro's side at the end of the table. Spike sat across from the boy and Kid sat on his right.

"Hiro, is it?" asked Spike.

"Yeah, and Spike, was it?"

"Uh huh."

"Nice to meet ya." said Hiro. "Welcome to the academy. What did you get for lunch?"

"I don't know." he said. "Death the Kid picked it out for me."

"Please, call me Kid." said the reaper. "It's only a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I didn't know what you would like, so I bought something simple."

"I don't have much against American food." said Spike. "I haven't eaten much of it since getting off the plane."

"It will take some getting used to." said Kid. "You shouldn't expect anything to miraculous, but the school does have good quality things to eat."

"It's mostly good." said Hiro. He unwrapped his gripped cheese to eat it. It was still warm and smelled heavenly.

"What's that you are eating?" asked Spike.

"Grilled cheese." he stopped and said. "Wanna try it?"

He passed his sandwich across the table to him. The newbie took it and wasted no time in taking a bite. His sharp teeth were exposed as he chomped down and bit off a corner.

"It's good." he said. "Different from home, but good, just simple."

"You can have it." said Hiro.

As payment for the grilled cheese, Hiro got the other's sandwich. He is not a fan of peanut butter, but he was hungry enough to eat it.

"How's it different from home?" Hiro asked Spike.

"I usually eat it with mushroom in it." he said. "This is a little simple, but it's still okay."

"Is the food you're eating here any good?"

"It's _not bad_," he said. "but it has so far been kind of greasy."

"Your English is spot-on, by the way." Hiro complimented.

"I've been learning it since middle school." he said with pride. "It comes naturally to me. I do forget words sometimes and have to pause and remember or wing it."

He cracked open his lime soda and drank it. He made a face as he swallowed.

"What's wrong?" asked Kid.

"I thought this would taste better." he said.

"Do you like cherry?" asked Hiro.

"Cherry is my favorite flavor."

"You can have this, too." he said and pushed his drink closer to him. They swapped cans like it was nothing and continued talking.

"So Spike," said Kid. "what made you want to come to the DWMA?"

"I'm here on a scholarship." he said. "At my old school, we had to submit a scholarship essay as a homework assignment in one of my classes. It was suppose to encourage us to write and submit more. My principal actually recommended that I submit one to here. One month later, I got the acceptance letter, and here I am. I'll be honest and say I didn't think I would get it. It feels like it was nothing."

"It depends if you are a meister or weapon." said Kid. "Meisters have a more difficult time entering because they have more requirements to enter than weapons, such as an exeptional wavelength. Did you submit saying you are an aspiring meister or are you a weapon?"

"I'm a weapon." said Spike. "I got it from my father's side."

"What kind?" asked Hiro.

"Flail." he said. He could tell he made the other confused.

"Do you know what a morning star is?" he asked him.

"Yeah."

"It's very similar. Imaging the ball on a chain connected to the staff. That's a flail."

"Oooh, that's what that's called. I thought that was what a morning star was."

"It is definitely NOT that." said Spike. "I can't tell you how many times I've asked people and they have gotten it wrong."

He sniggered at his tone. It sounded as if it pisses him off every time.

The talked of random topics until the bell rang, signalling lunch was over. Spike thanked Hiro for swapping lunches and went with Kid to his next class. Hiro went to study hall with his disgusting lime soda he was still drinking because he was that desperate for sugar.

This class period was suppose to be training, but since he had no weapon, it was more like a study hall. He still had to pay attention to lessons and be tested like the other student in the class, but because he had no weapon, he could not participate in many activities requiring a partner. It was starting to affect his grade in that class because he was losing valuable lessons he would probably know better if he were a participating student.

Sid took the class outside for a special outdoors lesson. Hiro was ordered to observe from a distance for safety reasons. He felt insulted when he was told for "safety reasons". He was not as big of a wimp as he is often teased by Sid. Most of the teasing comes from him being the only kid in his graduating class without a weapon who is "vulnerable without someone to watch his back."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of." Sid would say to lift his spirits. "Some people have better luck than others, and you seem to have some crap luck, but that doesn't mean things will get better if you mope around."

He says that as if he is the only weaponless meister in the academy. It sucks to be weaponless. There is a lot he can not do unless he has a partner, but the meister ratio is slightly higher than the weapon, which played a role in the problem at hand. The majority of the problem came from the one complaining about his situation.

"Look in the mirror and you'll see why you don't have a partner." Sid would then say. "I was not the type of man to be a jerk, but sometimes you need a wake-up call. Great meisters don't find a weapon. They meet their partner. Meeting the one best suited for you takes time, and unfortunately wishing on it does not really help. I say it's more on fate's part that it happens. You will meet your partner one day. It may be today or the next or the next. Within time, boy, it will happen. You just have to keep waiting."

He found a shady tree to sit under and watch. He crossed his legs and arms to get comfortable. The tree was too rough to lean his head on it, so his shoulder was his pillow. He yawned, growing tired in the warmth of the sun peering through the branches. He closed his eyes and enjoyed this feeling.

He felt a sharpness on his scalp. He opened his eyes and looked up. He thought it was Sid about to yell at him to stay awake. It was not Sid, but Spike. He woke himself up more and fixed his sitting position to see him better.

"What're you doing out here?" he asked. "Did you get lost?"

"Kid said he needed to talk to his father, so he dropped me off outside." said Spike "Guess you're babysitting for him."

He sat in the grass next to him and watched the meisters yielding their weapons.

"What are they doing?" he asked Hiro.

"Combat training. It's basic training for all meisters and weapons so they can collect souls."

"Oh, right." Spike grunted.

"Have you ever seen a soul in real life?" Hiro asked.

"On the internet, but never in real life."

They fell silent as they watched the meisters do what they do best while Sid stood on the sidelines to give advice.

"I forgot to ask you." said Spike. "Where's your weapon? Did they stay home sick today?"

"I don't have one."

"How come?"

"You're still new. I don't think you'll understand it now."

"I know some things." Spike argued. "I remember Kid mentioning something to do with compatibility between the two people. Am I close?"

"You have the right idea." Hiro nodded. "Meister and weapon have to be compatible. They are usually close in bond, and that is critical to their soul wavelengths."

"I don't fully understand the soul part." said Spike.

"You'll learn it eventually. You want to know more about it, don't you?"

"I do."

"Then be patient."

He accepted the tip and stopped talking like a child listening to their parent.

Class ended on good terms between those who had a beating and who had beaten. Sid watched the young ones walk back inside five minutes before the bell was to ring. He noticed a face that was not one of his own. He hollered at one of the students to stop that kid for him.

"Hey, Hiro, stop that guy in front of you! Bring 'em here for me!"

Hiro guided Spike over to meet the zombie teacher. The dead man scanned the young, living man from head to toe.

"You're a new face. Are you the new kid I've been hearing about?"

"Yes, sir," Spike said and bowed. "I am Spike Coda."

"Shesh, boy, no need to treat me like royalty." Sid laughed.

"I'm sure that's a culture thing of his." Hiro commented on the bow.

"That's how we introduce ourselves in my country." said Spike.

"How proper of a young man." said Sid. He bowed to accommodate the culture of the boy. "I don't think I have you as a student, do I?"

"I think I have you next semester."

Sid scratched his chin and asked, "What might bring you to see me, then? You lost, kid?"

"I'm only stopping by to see what's going on." he said. "This is a lively class."

"This class is mostly hands-on," Sid chuckled. "and as you have seen, I mean that literally. We often come out here when the weather is nice. Nothing gets you moving more than the smell of mother nature right up your nose every breath."

Hiro tapped Spike's shoulder and said, "We should hurry back inside. I'll take you to your next class."

"Ooh right!" Sid said in realization. "Get going before I make you late. See you 'round, kid."

There was still plenty of time before the next bell. There was only one class left in the day. There was no rush because they both had Stein at the end of the day. He teaches multiple subjects, which makes it no surprise if he sees the same student (or students) two or three times a day.

Hiro sat in his usual seat and Spike sat on the space Hiro used for his feet. He figured he would never put his feet there again and quickly got over it.

"Why does Dr. Stein have a bolt in his head?" Spike asked.

"You're asking the wrong person."

Class began as soon as the bell rang. Stein rolled in his chair to the chalkboard and picked up a stick of white chalk. He was about to write when the door opened. Black Star walked in and stood before the teacher's desk.

"Why are you late?" Stein asked.

"I got in a fight." said Black Star. "It went well. Mira supervised it."

"Did you win?" Stein asked.

"Yeah."

"Good for you," said Stein. "now go stand outside. You're still late."

Spike leaned over to asked Hiro, "What's with that guy down there?"

"That's Black Star. Don't mind him. He typically means well. By the way, don't be late to class or you'll have to stand outside like him."

Black Star left the room and closed the door. Stein turned to the board and drew a line to a letter. The door knocked and he stopped making lines.

"Yes?" he called to whoever was knocking.

The knocker was Spirit. He smiled and waved at his daughter as he walked to Stein, looking around at the students.

"I'm here to steal some kids from you." he said. "Lord Death wants to see them if I can find them..."

His eyes locked on two kids in the fourth row near the steps.

"Up there." he said and pointed. "You two come with me. It's urgent, Death says."


	3. Ch 3 - Harmony

There are those who have an appreciation towards the weirder things in life--the things that fascinate us to the point we don't question them and live with them. Spike seemed to have that vibe for the Death Room. It was only his second time in it since arriving to Death City. He was as slow as ever while looking up at the guillotines towering them. Hiro himself was rarely ever in it. He had only been in it three times he can count, and it was at those times he was grilled by Lord Death to get his act together and take being a meister more seriously.

Spirit led them to the Shinigami. Lord Death sat at a coffee table in the middle of the Death Room with Kid. Steam rose from a teapot and several empty ceramic cups had been placed on the side across from the reapers. Hiro suspected Spike to not be fond of Lord Death. He had the sense of being weary when kneeling down at the table. His arms seemed tense like his muscles would rip the sleeves of his shirt. He had a hunch when sitting at first, but when Lord Death lifted his giant hand and flashed a peace sign, his spine straightened until it cracked.

"Hey! Hiya! Miss me, Spiky? Welcome back!" he said with his usual high levels of enthusiasm.

"Spike...y?" Spike tried to fathom the nickname. Lord Death tilted his head.

"Not big on why you're here, I bet?" he guessed. "Did I make you worry when you were told it was urgent? It's nothing to stress over. Have some tea and think about it, if you will. It's matcha."

Spike reached to the teapot and poured himself some tea in his ceramic cup. He passed the pot to Hiro when his cup was full and he too poured some. With full cups of tea, their little meeting began.

"How do you like it here, Spike?" asked Death. "Did you find all of your classes without trouble?"

"I did." he said.

Lord Death's head tilted further. "And... whatcha think of them?"

"Give it a week and I'll have an answer."

"Okaaaaaaaay..." Death hummed and turned to Hiro. "and how have you been, Hiro?"

"Ditto." he said between sips of tea.

"Well, this is not what I was expecting from either of you." said Death.

The boys drank in silence as they waited for someone to say something--anything. No words were spoken. It was total, awkward silence.

"Father, tell them why they're here." Kid said.

"Yesh, Kid, just trying to be social."

"Did I do something?" was the first thing Spike was concerned over.

"No, no!" Death reassured him, waving his hands. "Neither of you did anything wrong. I only brought you two down to figure out what's going on. Now then..."

He leaned over the counter and stared at the boys. Both remained motionless as the god did... whatever it was he was doing. He stared at them for minutes without a word. Then, he made a hum that startled them and said, "You're right, Kid."

"It took you that long to agree?" asked Kid.

"I was also thinking." said Death. "It is quite strange, I agree."

"What is?" asked Hiro.

"But this is good!" said Death. "This will work out for everyone, I'm certain."

"What does that mean?" asked Spike.

"Yes, yes, very good indeed. With the right patience, it should turn out better than I imagine."

"Lord Death, please explain." said the boys.

"Eh? Oh, yes." Death nodded. "Kid, explain to them why they are here."

They turned to the younger Shinigami. Kid cleared his throat.

"It was during lunch when I noticed something off. When you two talked back and forth, I realized that your soul wavelengths seemed to chime in almost perfect harmony. I thought I was mistaken, so I wanted to make sure before informing my father, which is why I dropped you off outside earlier today, Spike. I watched from inside you and Hiro's wavelengths match in harmony."

"Do you know about soul wavelengths, Spike?" Lord Death asked.

"I'm still not too familiar with that."

"In simplest terms," said Death. "it is crutial between meister and weapon. Both need to be in perfect sync so the meister may yield his/her weapon. In order for that to be accomplished, both require wavelengths that are compatible. Some can see the souls of others, such as me and my son here."

He leaned back over the table and stared some more at them. "And from the looks of your wavelengths, I am seeing nearly perfect compatibility."

"That's a little odd." Spirit chimed in the conversation. "He just started at the academy today."

"I'm aware of that." Death said and tilted his head. "It does make me curious as to why it is like this, but scratching our heads and only wondering will not bring up any immediate answers."

He leaned back and tapped the teeth of his skull mask while thinking.

"Back to why you are here." he said. "We are here to decide upon something."

"Which would be...?" Hiro asked.

"Well," Death hummed. "to be blunt, we have a bit of a situation. You, Hiro, are still without a weapon. By this point, you have it the easiest out of everyone here, and it's high time you start putting in the same amount of effort. You, Spike, are going to need a meister at some point during your time here, and you could use some help catching up to the rest of the students, so..." He clapped his hands and pointed at the boys. "I recommend you two pair up! If fact, I demand you two do so!"

They looked over the giant fingers in their faces at the god. Hiro was questioning if he was being serious. Spike was confused on half of the things he said. The part they both understood was the pairing up part.

"Lord Death," said Spirit. "They both just met today, and the kid is still very new--"

"Hush, you." said Death. "I've already made up my mind. I want to see how it will work between them. Well, kids? What do you think?"

Hiro glanced at the weapon. Spike's left eye was wide and looking back at him for help.

"It doesn't sound like a good idea." Hiro spoke for both of them. "He just showed up, and we hardly know each other."

"Don't care!" said the Shinigami. "I've already decided I want to see it, so I'm making it happen!"

They were stunned.

"Y-You can't just _force_ us into it!" said Hiro.

"Sure I can." said Death.

Hiro turned to Kid and asked, "Can he do this!?"

"Technically, he can. It's his school." said Kid.

He shriveled into a defeated, pathetic pile of crap. Whether he had said yes or no, his opinion mattered none. Once Lord Death makes up his mind, it is nearly impossible to change it.

"God, are you for real?" he mumbled then lightly tapped Spike's elbow. "Can you believe this?"

"I have no idea what's going on."

"It's nothing to cry over." said Kid. "It will take some getting used to. Even now, I can see your wavelengths chiming in harmony."

They slouched over the table and rested their chins in the palms of their hands. They heard enough.

"Oh stop pouting." said Death. "You are youths being shaped into adults. Go along with it and see how it goes. If it doesn't work between you two, we'll split you up, plain and simple. Now..."

He tapped the teeth of his mask in thought.

"Since the matter has been settled, there will also need to be a slight change in certain arrangements. I know you just moved into your dorm here, Spike, but it looks like you'll have to pack your things back up. You will be moving into Hiro's home."

"No!" Hiro blurted without a second thought. "No! No! You can't put a stranger in my home! No! N-O spells NO! You can't do this!"

"Sure I can." said Death. "You are living in an apartment complex that I provided. I can place whoever I want in any room."

He slammed his head on the table top, groaning. Of course he could do it. He could do whatever the hell he wanted.

"May I say something, Shinigami-sama?" Spike asked.

"Please, call me Lord Death, and yes, you may."

"I don't understand much of what is happening," said Spike. "but if you say it's best for me, then I have no complaints."

Lord Death beamed, "That's the kind of attitude I want to see! You may not understand it now, but it will make sense later, I promise. I think it will work between the two of you. With souls like the ones I'm seeing, I doubt it will."

Lord Death had taken up most of the final class hour. However, that didn't mean they were totally free to go. Death wanted to waste no time in setting the boys up together. He sent Hiro to Spike's dorm in the dungeons to help him pack his belongings for a second move-in. Spirit offered assistance by driving them to Hiro's apartment and making a second trip around to get the rest of the things that couldn't fit in the trunk the first trip. He helped dropped boxes off then left them to do the unpacking.

The boys moved the boxes into the guest bedroom. Hiro recognized Spike was organizing the boxes by the contents inside. He didn't know what any of them were because the marker on the sides was written in hiragana, so he organized by the different symbols. When the boxes were organized and pushed against the wall to make more space, Hiro stretched his back and decided to let Spike unpack by himself. It was his stuff, after all. It was none of his business to see what he owned. He also wanted some distance from the new roommate. He was still a stranger to him. Just because they knew the other by name did not make them well acquainted. It was under Lord Death's order that they were under the same roof. If things were to slip up, they would be separated. It was best, in Hiro's mind, to not have too personal strings attached at the moment.

"There ya go." he said. "Hope you like it in here. You can reorganize the furniture however you want."

He turned and walked out of the room. He heard tap being ripped off boxes. He stopped in the doorway and glanced behind his shoulder. The torn tape was wadded into a ball and stuck to the open lid of a box. On the floor, video games to a 3DS were being placed next to the box they came from. They were stacked neatly and topped with a blue 3DS console. Placed next to them was a PlayStation 4 and games to go along with it.

"That's a lot of games." Hiro said and walked back into the room. He crouched down to the box's level amd looked inside. All that was left was a Game Boy Color.

"I bought most of them before leaving the country." said Spike.

Hiro picked up a 3DS game. It was in Japanese, but it was probably okay if it was part of the massive game collection. He put it back where he found it and pulled a box closer to him. He opened it and reached inside to unpack it. He discovered packaged food such as candy and instant meals like ramen. It was a lot of food, so much the box was full to the brim. It looked like the entire candy section near the check-out line at a store had been cleaned out. He opened another box, and it too was full of snacks. There were three boxed full of nothing else but food.

"My mother didn't want me to starve if I hated American food." said Spike. "You can pick something out if you want any of it."

"Really?" Hiro asked to make sure.

"Really."

He saw a box of chocolate pocky and snatched it. He opened it and stuck a stick in his mouth, lightly chewing it as he unpacked the remaining boxes.

"You have a lot of junk food." said Hiro as he finished his final pocky stick.

"I'll grow sick of it eventually if I eat it for long enough." said Spike.

"What's some real food you like?" Hiro asked. "I can get some things you like this weekend if you don't like any of my food."

Spike shook his head. "You don't have to. I can see for myself what the stores here have. Maybe I'll try your country's version of ramen."

"Ew, don't try it."

"Is it bad?"

Hiro stuck out his tongue. "To me it is. It's not that flavorful. I usually make my own if I have the time and ingredients."

"I did not think you would be the type who cooks." Spike commemted.

There was slight offense. "What made you think that?"

"You live alone, or used to live alone, so I had the impression you eat quick and easy meals."

"Not typically." said Hiro. A smirk grew on his face and he gained a braggy tone. Sure, he was still not thrilled about a stranger living with him, but that was the best part he realized about living with one: he did not know him as much as the other. It was his chance to flaunt his talents to the only one who would listen.

"I experiment and have a journal with recipes. I make a lot of sweets, but I can go savory. I can take a challenge if you give it. Gimme a pack of ramen right now. I can give it an upgrade. I'm serious, dude. Gimme some ramen."

He was given a pack of chicken ramen. He took it to the kitchen and set it on the counter next to the stove. He went to the fridge and browsed through his possibilities. He saw a leftover boneless chicken that needed to be used by the end of the week. Chicken ramen stir-fry will do nicely.

He boiled the ramen in a saucepan. While the noodles boiled, he cooked in a skillet chopped chicken in vegetable oil until the pieces were brown. He set them aside covered with a plate to keep warm and drained the noodles. He stirred broccoli, garlic cloves, and sliced onion in the used oil until tender when he taste tested them. He added the ramen, the broth from the ramen package, water, and soy sauce to the skillet. It cooked until it was evenly warm.

Dinner was served in bowls and eaten in the living room. He gave Spike one that was half full. He made sure there was a little bit of all the ingredients added in his bowl. A fork was stabbed in the mixture for him to eat with. Spike set the bowl down on the coffee table and went to his room, returning less then a minute later. Hiro almost questioned him, but then he noticed in his hand chopsticks in plastic wrapping. He didn't judge. It was what he was used to. He paid no mind to it and ate his noodles with a fork. Spike grabbed a few strings of noodles and brought them to his nose to smell. He opened his mouth and bit them in a securely manner. His eye lit with surprise. The taste had hit his tongue--the taste of home. It was like ramen made from scratch.

"Not bad." he said, casually opening his mouth and eating a piece of chicken.

"The face doesn't lie." Hiro said with satisfaction.

"It's _not bad_." he repeated. "I like it."

He considered it enough of a victory. They talked in seldom while they ate and Hiro did the dishes so Spike could finish unpacking what he needed and worry about the rest tomorrow. He stoppes by Spike's new room to check on him. He was preoccupied with getting his belongings out of boxes, so Hiro let him so his thing and took a shower.

He came out of the bathroom with a towel around his head. He forgot to hate pajamas into the bathroom, so he came out in his purple plaid jeans and white shirt. All of the buttons on his shirt were left unbone and his tie, belt, and choker were in his hand. He stopped by the weapon's room to check on his progress. He knocked once but got no answer, so he carefully opened the door.

He was asleep on the floor. He made a bed out of several blankets--one for sleeping on and the other for coverage. His game consoles had been pushed near the TV with chords plugged in the outlets. Empty boxes were stacked at the foot of the bed where tjere was enough space to keep them out of the way. He had made good progress. Two boxes remained full. The could easily be unpacked after school.

Hiro closed the door and went to his room. He undressed and toased his clothes in the direction of the hamper. The shirt hung off the ring of the hamper by its sleeve--being the only thing he threw that made it _inside_ the hamper. He contemplated putting on sweatpants. _Screw it. _He crawled under the covers and curled into a ball.

So much had happened in one day. It was so hard to deal with it. There was a stranger in his home sleeping in the room across from his. It made it more difficult for him to sleep, yet he was not as mad as he was from the moment he was told they would live together. Now that it was happening, he was suddenly okay with it, but he still felt uneasy.


	4. Ch 4 - Black Star

Tuesday morning was warm, but a mild warm--like the kind of mild not too hot or cool and makes it okay to wear anything and not be bothered by the temperature. A morning like this has a smell Hiro has grown to notice. He loves the stench of dew and the nature around him in the city. It didn't mean he hated the desert. He also liked the smell of sand and its softness between his toes on an early morning before it gets too hot to stay out there for long. Spike openly mentioned to him at breakfast he was not a fan of too warm climates. Hiro told him he would have to deal with it because Nevada is merciless in summer, but within the city with buildings for shade, it was survivable.

Spike had a black book bag with his study sets inside. Hiro never had much homework, so he often left his empty book bag at home. Before leaving for school, Hiro gave Spike a spare key to the apartment in case he were to come home and the door was locked. Hiro led the way to school and briefly told him about stores they passed. He seemed eager to learn more about the city. Hiro imagined it wouldn't be long until he would know how to get around on his own.

"How'd you sleep last night?" Hiro asked halfway to school.

"Okay, I suppose." he said. "I'll get used to it."

"Why'd you sleep on the floor?" Hiro asked.

"I sleep on a futon at home. The bed is a little too high for me. I'm used to sleeping at a lower level."

"You can move the mattress to the floor if that'll help." said Hiro. "I don't think you should sleep directly on the floor. I never cleaned that room since I moved in."

"It's healthier to sleep on the floor."

"'Kay, man, whatever you say."

Closer to the school, one would see students coming from the routes they take and merge into groups when coming onto the same street. Some of the kids recognized the transfer student. Hiro felt uncomfortable with so many eyes watching them. It was creepy to see people slow down and whisper to their friends while pointing.

He ignored them by focusing on the academy ahead of them. They were approaching the long stairway that led to the front doors. He put one foot on the first step and climbed the many stairs. He always began slowing down halfway up, but it was no problem for Spike. He maintained the same pace going up and surpassed Hiro, and he was carrying extra weight that should have caused his legs to ache, but he went up to the top of the stairway and seemed fine as Hiro caught up with him.

They took a minute for Hiro to catch his breath and proceeded to take a step towards the doors. Hiro went ahead of Spike. He glanced back to see if he was close behind following. His head was in another direction--facing someplace higher. He thought he was gazing around and ignored him. As he went to take another step, he was grabbed by arms wrapping around his arms and torso. He was pulled far back and whipped to the side, barely missing a darting kunai throwing knife. He looked back at Spike. His face was a little sweaty from the shock and immediate action. The knife impaled the stone ground a few feet from them, but didn't hit anything major.

"Are you okay?" Spike asked. His voice was more raspy than normal. He allowed his arms to unravel from around Hiro and let him go.

"I'm good." said Hiro.

Spike went over to the knife stuck in the ground. He wiggled it and got it unstuck. He looked up in the direction it came. Hiro followed his line of sight to one of the balconies of the school. On one of the large red spikes was a boy. He shouted words of overzealousness to the entire school.

"Cheap move! You show up and are acting like you're hot stuff? You have never seen a man as big as me!"

Hiro facepalmed himself in the forehead. He was not believing a thing that was happening.

"Who's the kid?" asked Spike.

"That's Black Star." said Hiro. "He's pretty full of himself. Ignore him."

"I'm so sorry!"

A beautifully curvy, tall woman came running outside through the doors. It was Tsubaki.

"Please don't take it the wrong way." she pleaded with them. "He's a good person once you get to know him."

"And you are...?" Spike asked.

"Tsubaki." she said and bowed. "Welcome to the academy, and I'm again sorry for Black Star."

"Tsubaki..." Spike repeated. "are you Japanese, too?"

She smiled and said, "I am; Japan is where I was born."

"Hey!" Black Star hollered. "Remember who you're talking to! Nobody ignores Black Star! I'm the star around here, not you!"

He jumped off the spike to the top of the stairway at the entrance, showing off by completing a long forward flip and landing on his feet. Hiro rolled his eyes. He remembered his days of self-bloat. His pride got the best of him and he learned his lesson. Black Star was on a whole nother level of bloating.

"I told you to not to!" said Tsubaki. "I'm sure he doesn't want to cause a huge fight with you!"

"Come on, Tsubaki." said Black Star. "I said you don't have to join me, so don't worry about it. I can easily take the newb out with my bare hands! You hear me, punk? I can take you on!"

Hiro glanced at Spike. He was twirling the kunai in his hand, not caring about what was going on.

"That's amusing." said Spike. Black Star's face was wiped blank then exploded in rage.

"What's that suppose to mean!?" he asked. "You think I can't!? I'll prove it to you! You're from Japan, right!? You got ninjas and assassins out there, don't ya!? Ever fought one before!? Come on!"

Spike chuckled, "Are you saying you are one? You aren't like the ones I have seen. Back in Japan, you would be considered a laughing stock."

"You ain't never seen what I can do!" Black Star said with a smug. "I'll show you what I'm talking about, unless you're too scared to see it!"

Spike raised his left eyebrow and smirked. He flicked the knife over his head and it impaled the stone ground behind him. He took off his bag and casually handed it to Hiro.

"Hold this, please." he said.

"W-Wait--hold on!" said the stupefied Hiro. "Are you serious?"

He was serious. He handed off his bag and walked to the center. Tsubaki gently pushed Hiro back to protect him from whatever was to come.

"It's better to stay back most of the time." she said.

Black Star smiled at the outcome. Spike straightened the spiked collar around his neck. He put his right hand on his left shoulder and cracked his neck. He lastly gripped the cross then lowered his arms to his sides. Something about his demeanor was different from his kindness and curiosity. He was too calm for this.

"Let's go. I'm game." he said.

A small crowd had gathered and left room near the door and stairs. Tensions were high for those stopping to watch. Many of them saw the transfer student and stopped to see him. Hiro was the most tense out of everyone. Black Star was... Black Star, to simply state it. He was not the brightest at school, but he knew how to do serious damage. Nobody knew Spike that well yet. Nobody knew what he could do. Just because he has muscle did not make him a foe to fear losing against.

They began circling the space between them. Their shoes were the only things making noise. Each step drew more tension. Hiro looked about the crowd. He saw Maka standing with Soul and Crona. He begged in his head for her to break it up. She could stand up to Black Star. She could make it stop and bring them to reaon. It was Maka. It was possible with her. She watched them move, but that was all she did was watch them.

_Dammit, Maka, please make it stop before someone does something!_

She would not make it stop, but perhaps someone else would! From inside the school, Hiro could see Stein rolling in his chair towards the entrance. Yes! An adult is just what is needed!

"Hold it!" said Stein. He slammed his feet down to stop his chair from hitting the bump in the doorway.

"Good," he said. He took out a cigarette and lighter from his lab coat and lit up. "I'm just in time. I'm here to supervise. Pay no attention to me. Proceed."

_Dammit noooooo!!!_

The continued to circle around, passing students on the outside. Spike passed the nervous Hiro. He glanced over his shoulder. It was the right side of his face, so all he saw was an eyepatch, but he caught a smirk on his face than made Hiro dreadful for him.

Black Star smiled sinisterly. He halted and made the other stop moving, too. He and his smile went up in smoke--and he was gone.

Spike was motionless. He heard feet running up to him from behind. He looked over his shoulder. By then, Black Star was a foot away with his fist cocked back.

_Shit! He's using Soul Menace! Get out of the way or you'll get knocked around!_

He reached around with both hands and caught his arms, pulling it forward and missing his back. His torso twisted and he threw him like it was nothing. Black Star landed on his shoulders and flipped, sliding over the stone ground. His fingers found a grip on the ground and he found his footing. He stopped in the perfect running position to sprint. When he took off, the demon weapon also ran for his target. Black Star cocked his arm back to try another Soul Menace. He drove it under for the gut. His weist was grabbed and he was pulled into the weapon's trap. A deep punch to the stomach knocked the wind out of him and blew him back again.

He rolled until his hands found stone to grab while rolling. He jumped to his feet and turned his head to see where his opponent was. When the ground showed no signs of him, he looked up and his eyes widened. He quickly jumped back and barely missed a fist that made the stone beneath in crack and left behind a divit. Hiro was just as shock by his power. If he could to that to stone slabbed together by cement, he stressed what he could do to the boy he was fighting.

Black Star gained some space between him and Spike. A few feet from where he was standing, he saw the kunai he had thrown.

_Perfect._

He sprinted for his opponent and scooped up the knife in the process. Spike noticed the knife coming for him gut and stepped to the side. It cut his left hip, but it was a scratch. He grabbed the hand with the knife and lifted it above their heads. His grip was deadly and made Black Star lose some feeling in his hand, resulting in him dropping the knife. Black Star was face to face with him. He saw how fierce his eye was. His pupil was the size of a dot. Its red color was hot and boiling.

Then, out of the same amount of rage and the opportunity for it, he head-butted him. Spike let go of him and stumbled back, dazed. Black Star was quicker to collect himself and shoved his fist in his stomach. A huge shockwave blew Spike back into the stone wall. His body left a cracked dent then fell to lie on his face. Spike lifted himself on his arms and used the support of the wall to stand. His face was scratched on its right cheek. Droplets of blood smeared his face as he wiped the scratches. His black shirt was dirty from dust. The cut on his hip from the knife had clogged for a bit, but the tumble into the wall broke it open and it was bleeding again.

"_Shit_!" Hiro said soft enough so people wouldn't hear his profanity.

Spike rolled his shoulders and seemed fine. He even spit--and his saliva was a tad bit red. Black Star had a bump on his forehead. He too was scratched from sliding on the ground. It was only a short time they had been at it, and they were both scratched and bleeding, but neither of them were quiting because quiting is losing.

They charged, running like there was no tomorrow. Both cocked back their fists and aimed for wherever they decided to hit. Hiro covered his eyes with the book bag. He peeked to see if it had already happened, bit it was just happening as he looked. Black Star went for a punch to the face with a ready-to-blow Soul Menace. Spike appeared to have been going for his face, as well. Right before his fist came in close proximity to his face, his arm changed angles and his fist darted upwards, catching Black Star underneath the chin. His entire body was knocked into the air. He landed on his butt then flattened out on the ground in a pain angel. That was it.

Tsubaki ran to her meister and kneeled at his head. His eyeballs rolled in her direction. He lifted his arm and gave a thumbs up. He would be fine.

They heard footsteps. Spike towered over the fallen star with his hands in his front pockets.

"That's how we do it back in Japan." he said and walked away.

He went to Hiro and took his book bag from him. Hiro was speechless. All of the words and phrases he could have said were non-existent. He was surprised by how fast he was able to shut the kid up, and he did it in a way that made him seem he could have cared less.

"That was quick." said Stein as he took a drag from his cigarette. "It seems our new student is quite the character. Nicely done, Mr. Coda."

The bell inside the school rang. Stein stopped smoking when he heard it.

"Oops, there's the warning bell. Everyone get inside or you'll be late. Tsubaki, go and take Black Star to the nurse's office. You can go with her, Spike, and get yourself fixed up."

Tsubaki picked up Black Star bridal style and hurried into the building. Spike turned to Hiro and shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess I'm going with them." he said. "I'll see you later in class."

He followed Tsubaki's lead to the nurse's office. Hiro went to first hour alone. The space near the stairs in class was empty, so he kicked his feet up and relaxed.

Spike arrived to class when there was a quarter left. He was wearing a different black shirt from the nurse's office that was larger than his older, tigher one. His right cheek was swollen had on a medical patch, and his forearms were wrapped in gauze. Hiro moved his feet so he would have his seat and they went on with their day like nothing happened.

* * *

Hiro was scavenging through the fridge trying to figure out what to do for dinner. He thought about making breakfast for dinner, since there was not much left dinner-wise. He would have to go shopping sometime this week.

"Hiro, are you out there?"

He closed the fridge and went down the hall into the bathroom where he was being summoned. He opened the door and froze. Spike had gathered cotton balls and a bottle of peroxide out on the sink. His shirt that was lent to him by the school hung from the shower door. The thing that made him freeze was his body. His muscles were magnificent in the form of a six pack. It was never noticed due to his shirt, but he had also been scuffed up on his sides and back.

"Can you help me with the peroxide?" he asked.

"W-What do you need help with it?" Hiro asked, trying not to look at his abs.

"My back had gotten scratched and I can't reach it." he said.

"Y-Yeah, I got it." Hiro tried not to stammer. "Sit on the toilet so it'll be easier."

Spike sat on the toilet and rested his arms on the tank. His back was in fact beaten up, but that was forgotten once Hiro saw the strong triangle that made his back glorious. Even his back was hypnotizing. Hiro shook his head to break himself from daydreaming.

_No. Don't you dare let that part of you out. He can't have the idea you may be like that. Now's not the time._

He took a cotton ball and douced it with peroxide. He was careful in applying it to the scrapes and blew on the areas to ease the sting. If the peroxide touched a certain scrape, he would grow tense and his muscles would flex. With his back to him, Hiro was less mindful and stared all he wanted. He would shake his head multiple times to snap out of it and soon finished applying the peroxide.

Dinner was pancakes, since they had no other food besides the junk food in Spike's moving boxes. Hiro told him he would probably go grocery shopping tomorrow. Spike asked to go with him, mainly to see more of the town and what the grocery store may have. Hiro said he was more than welcomed.

After they went to their rooms for bed, Hiro found himself struggling to sleep. He figured it would come to this shortly after the move-in. He was scared people would soon find out, so he had tried his hardest to limit his interactions with others. Sooner or later, he feared it would be evident. He tried to do things "normal" people of his gender did. It was why he was such a pervert, but he stopped being like that because he did find it degrading.

And thanks to Lord Death and his decision, he had been panicking on the inside. He pulled the covered up to his face and groaned. It was painful to hide it, but it was what he has to do if he was going to be partners with Spike. Dammit, did Spike have to be so freaking attractive. That damn fool. That thrice damn, attractive fool.


	5. Ch 5 - Aggressive

The day was pure hell.

For starters, the trip to the grocery store was a disaster. Hiro got into an argument with a shelf stocker in the fresh produce section. He figured they were having a bad day because they already had an attitude when he approached them, and when he asked where the dried fruits had moved, the person said, "Look around and maybe you'll find them." so he left the store without the almonds he was wanting.

Second, the plastic bag holding some of the groceries broke. A box of strawberries opened and the fruit scattered all over the sidewalk. He salvaged what he could and left the bad strawberries where they had fallen.

Thirdly, he forgot to get milk and they had only a quarter jug left, which meant he would have to go BACK to the store the following day.

Fourth and foremost, he was stressed like all high school kids and had no way to channel his frustrations. Half of his stress came from the very person living with him. Going on day three now, and he was ready to kill himself. In that timespan, there was a fight and his brain was trying to make him get carried away with certain emotions.

No, that last part can not happen. He has to control himself. He was better than that.

That evening, Spike was in the shower, which provided perfect opportunity to kick back, relax, get on Netflix and watch One Punch Man. He first had to gear up so he could fully enjoy himself:

**Step 1: **Jump into sweats.

**Step 2: **Pop a bag of popcorn with extra butter and a cup of cocoa with whipped cream and shaved chocolate.

**Step 3: **Get out a fluffy blanket and wrap into a burrito.

**Step 4: **Sit on the couch and put your feet on the coffee table.

**Step 5: **Ignore the outside world and hit play.

He nuzzled in his burrito blanket with his cocoa safely in his hands. He used the blanket to hold the mug and blew into it as the opening theme played. He bobbed his head to the beat and muttered along with the song.

_Duh duh duuuh duh duh duh, duh duh duh duh duh..._

He licked the melting whipped cream to his cocoa and smiled faintly. He was in his happy place. He deserved this. All of his sufferage was being paid for and he was in his own little world of comfort.

One episode in and he had drank all of his cocoa and ate most of his popcorn. He set the bowl and mug on the coffee table and nuzzled back in his blanket burrito. The next episode started and he bobbed his head to the beat of the opening. This was paradise. It was all he needed to survive. His smile widened.

Then, the smile was gone. He felt weight on the other end of the couch. His head eerily turned. Spike crossed his legs over the coffee table and rested an arm over the couch. He too was in sweats. His hair was damp from his shower. His arms were scraped from the day before but healing just fine. His cheek was bo longer swoolen but had minor scratches that were hardly noticeable. It's amazing what peroxide can do.

"Haven't seen this in a while." he said.

His little world of comfort crumbled in his mind. All that was left was irritation and a weird sense of neutrality. He was pissed at first, but he got over it and rebuilt his world of comfort.

"Do you like One Punch?" Hiro asked.

"It's pretty good." said Spike. "Ever watch the Japanese debute? The English one-liners are the best."

"Aren't they?"

They watched two episodes in silence. During the opening on episode four, Hiro glanced at the weapon. His eye was glued to the TV. Hiro stared at his neck. It was the right amount of thickness for his built and age. Spike swallowed and Hiro watched his Adam's apple move. A lot of neck was exposed without its collar. No spikes could harm a being creeping up on it.

He snapped out of it and put his focus on the TV. His blanket was making him warm so he wiggled his shoulder free and made the blanket burrito looser. He was warm while snug as a bug and was fine, but now he was hot. It didn't feel right with him. He shifted in place to try and get comfortable. His leg hit a nerve in his abdomen area. He bit his lip and his face boiled red.

_Oh shit. Shitty shitty shit shit why now!? Can't it wait until I'm done watching this?_

His belly turned and his legs grew sore. He took a deep breath and slowly released it. He thought of things the would distract him from it. He thought about the test in Stein's first hour class on Friday. He needed to study for that. First hour was becoming a struggle. The last test he took was a doozy--a C-. That brought his grade down a whole letter. The next test would be over the science of soul consumption.

Consuming souls... it used to not matter to him, but now that he had a partner, it was a matter of time before they would be collecting souls. He wondered what souls tasted like. He thought about asking Spike once they obtain their first soul. He imagined his mouth opening wide to eat the soul. His sharp teeth would make quick work of it, chomping it whole and chewing. He may lick his lips and teeth if it were a savory flavor. Those sharp teeth were vicious and could tear the toughest of meat, but would probably feel nice in small, tender nips.

A shiver rushed through his spine. That didn't help at all. In fact, it was worse. He stood up, his blanket unraveling and falling to the couch and floor.

"I'm gonna shower." he said and power walked to the bathroom.

He shut the bathroom door and locked it. He paused in thought for a moment then unlocked it. It was the only bathroom in the apartment, and it would suck for Spike if he had an extreme emergency.

He hunched over the sink, trying not to groan so loud it would be heard. He was on fire. He ripped off his sweatshirt and pants and hurled them against the wall. His white briefs had a hump that disgusted him. He pulled them down, and the freedom made his head light. It bobbed in the air, hot and in pain. It had to show up at the worst of times.

"Dammit." he hissed.

He turned on the fan and took a cool shower. His hot blood dropped ten degrees and the problem was gone. The bad part about living with someone was the lack of privacy and the sense to be conservative, even if it was his home. It sounded great to lose himself in pleasure. He felt he deserved a night dedicated to it, but there was someone else in his home with him. He could live without it.

He walked out of the bathroom with a towel around his neck and back in his sweats. He headed to the living room to clean up his mess. When he got there, the lights were off. It was not dark enough to disable him and he found the lamp next to the couch. His popcorn and mug were gone and his blanket laid folded on the couch. He didn't question it and turned off the lamp.

He shuffled to his room down the hall and passed Spike's bedroom door. He stopped, and a faint smile formed om his face. He proceeded to his room and closed the door, marking the end of the day.

Thursday morning went by smoothly. First hour was a study period for the chapter test. Hiro took advantage of it and reviewed his text book. He needed at least a C to pass. Though he was technically currently passing, if he were to bomb the test, he would be in real deep with Stein, so study he must.

Spike also studied, and though he was exempt from the test. Hiro reminded him of that, and this was his excuse--

"You should still study it even if you will not be tested. Who knows? It will only benefit you in the future."

His nose was shoved deep in the text book. He even took notes in his notebook. His penmanship was neat and in order. Some of his letters were more like cursive. Hiro thought he would write in his language because he thought it would be easier for him to understand if and when he would return to his notes and see his native language.

Hiro was determined to pass. He studied during lectures in his other classes and planned to study more during lunch. He walked down the hall with his books readily in his arms for an opportunity to refresh his memory. Some fuel would help him study. Lunch was suppose to be five cheese Italian bread. There was no rush because he had to walk across the school like always for lunch, and even if he were to hurry, there would still be a lengthy line because the Italian bread was one of the school's popular lunches. He would wait for the line to go down then get his fillings.

Of course, there would still be a dilemma. He was not the only student on the other side of the school wanting lunch. He knew he needed to be weary of his surroundings and look out for the kids who would "ask" him to get them lunch. He walked along the wall to try and hide himself. He figured if he was not walking with others, it would help.

But it did nothing for him.

A hand on his shoulder scared him a little. He was turned around, his shoulder hitting the wall. It was two students who regularly used him to get food. He gulped the drool in his mouth. They were tall senior students and he was a shorter, thinner junior. Some of the people who asked him to fetch lunch were often nice when trying to woe him into the idea, but not these students. They have knocked things out of his hands, pushed him against the wall or down on the floor, flicked him in the head, and pull him by the tie or choker (that being what he hated the most). He made sure to have a grip on his books and covered his tie with them. He felt like a girl with the way he held him books, but he mostly felt like a coward.

"Hey, Hiro! How ya doin'?" said one of the boys, who was blond.

"Where ya off ta, man?" asked the second boy, who was a brunet.

"You look like yer going to lunch." said the blond. He stood in front of Hiro and placed his hand on the wall next to his head. Hiro turned his head to face nothing. His breath smelled like nicotine.

"Yeah," Hiro said, trying not to choke on his own words and the cigarette breath. He was sick of dealing with these kids, so he gave attitude, which was a rarity of him. "so get out of my face so I can get it."

The blond boy put his hand on Hiro's face, squishing his cheeks so much his lips puckered from it. His head was forced to face the boy.

"Watch it." he said. "Remember what you were told? Better be nice, smartass. That attitude will get you stitches."

His face was released. His cheeks were sore and his lips had the faintness of drool.

"But I'll let it slide," said the blond. "as soon as you come back with an Italian bread and lemonade."

"And a second bread with grape soda." said the brunet.

"So get moving." said the blond. He whipped his hand and knocked Hiro's books to the dirty floor. When he squated to gather them, a foot pushed on his arm and he fell to that dirty floor. His white shirt wiped up the filth from so many shoes. It was amusement for them to push him like this, yet he puts up with it. It was easier to go along and get it over with than cause a huge ruckus.

He scrambled to sit on his knees. He wiped the dirt off his face with his sleeve then reached to take his books. He took a notebook then went to grab the textbook he had been using to study. It was then when he touched the book, a pair of sneakers appeared before the fallen study materials. They were new--barely tracking dirt. He looked up. His eyes locked on his weapon partner. They stared. Hiro was embarrassed to have been approached while in a humiliating state, thus he had a miserable look. The other had little in emotional response, but Hiro could tell how he felt in his eye. He had that look--the same look from the other day during the fight in front of the school.

"Hey, bro," said the blond boy to the weapon. "back off. Shorty here's gotta get going."

That look in the weapon's eye intensified as his eyebrow wrinkled in frustration. His muscles were tense as he clutched his fists, making his knuckles crack.

"Bro," the blond said louder. "back off, I said. This ain't your business."

Finally, the weapon looked at the student talking to him, and he spoke.

"That was uncalled for."

"_Oooh_," said the blond. "lookie what we got here. You ain't from around here, I can tell. You wanna play hero? You think you're hot shit?"

"Dude," said the brunet. "I think he's the transfer student."

"Is he?" said the blond sarcastically. "He's the one who beat up Black Star? Think you're tough? You only look like a hardass, you and your flashy choker thingie."

He stepped closer and leaned in his face.

"You don't look like much, and I bet all yellow skins are only fragile little geeks on the inside."

Hiro covered his open mouth. He did not just hear that. Spike was not even that tan. He could pass as a Caucasian with a very mild tan. He thought he would punch out his lights.

"You think so?" asked Spike. "At least I'm not a white gangster wannabe."

Hiro's eyes widened. _He did fucking not...!_

"Easy, big boy." said the blond. "That's the mouth that'll get you some stitches. I don't take shit from juniors. I don't buy that you beat up a brat like Black Star. Even if you did, you're still the lower bitch on the scale, newb."

Nobody could have predicted what would come next. The blond boy grabbed Spike's shoulder and drove his fist into his stomach, or so he attempted to. Before his fist even came close to him, Spike grabbed him by the wrist. He twisted his arm and his fist came down on his elbow. Bone snapped in the loudest and crispest sound. The pain was so severe that the kid dropped to his side and wailed like a crybaby. The brunet avenged his fallen friend by yanking Spike's shirt and grabbing his throat. Spike repeated his actions and snapped his arm, too. Both boys lay on the floor, crying like babies about their arms.

"Jesus fuck! My arm!" wailed the blond. "Mother fucker broke my arm!"

Spike paid no attention to him. He crouched to the floor and gathered the books Hiro had yet to get. He held them for him to take.

"Are you all right?" he asked him.

Hiro took his books and stumbled to stand. His shirt was dusted brown on the left shoulder from the dirty floor. Spike then did a second thing that surprised him. He reached to his head and did something to his hair. He remained still as he did whatever it was he was doing. His hand lowered with a tootsie roll wrapper in his fingers.

A presence lingered behind him. Dr. Stein stood in a very calm, almost casual manner. He only glanced at the two boys on the floor for a second, but then he focused solely on the weapon.

"Afternoon, Spike." he greeted him.

"Good afternoon, Stein-sensei." said Spike.

"Please, Dr. Stein or even Stein is fine with me." said the doctor. "I see you've gotten into a little scuffle."

He glanced at the students he sent to the floor bawling.

"I-It's not his fault!" said Hiro.

Stein stared past Spike at the original victim of the incident.

"He was defending me! They started it!"

"Calm down," said Stein. "I saw them knock you around. While it was nice of Mr. Coda to have stood up, breaking a couple of arms is a little excessive, even if it was self-defense."

"A LITTLE!?" wailed the blond student. "My arm is broken and all you did was watch!"

"Cool your jets." said Stein. "You're not off the hook because you got a broken arm out of it. Everyone is going to the Death Room so we may better sort this out."

The injured students were taken to the nurse's office. Their arms had to be broken a second time to properly align their joints. They were put in casts and slings and given dosages of local anesthesia.

The senior students were interrogated first. Stein allowed the other two students to get lunch--as long they agreed to bring him an Italian bread with coffee. They ate in Stein's classroom and finished right when it was Hiro and Spike's turn to go to the Death Room to meet with Lord Death.

They were escorted to the Death Room by Stein. Lord Death was in a chair having a cup of tea like it was a good day to be happy. Several smaller chairs had been set side by side before the Shinigami. He gestured the boys to sit and they sat.

"Well, well, well," he said. "this is quite the situation everyone has gotten into. Does anybody have something to say about it?"

Neither of them said a word. Stein spoke on behalf of them.

"I will first like to apologise on behalf of the senior students."

Death tilted his head. "Why is that?"

"As the teacher, I should have stepped in and put a stop to it before it got out of hand. When I saw Mr. Coda here appear, I thought Hiro would yield him in weapon form and defend himself, but then I remembered they are still new to each other. I allowed the incident to escalate, and I'm sorry both parties experienced some form of damage."

"My, my, Stein," said Death. "you are not one to say you are at fault for a student. You had good intent for allowing it to continue, so I do not blame you."

He turned to Hiro and said, "Those boys who were hurt are not the victims. Why don't you tell me how this all happened, please."

His toes twiddled inside his shoes. He hated the aura of the attention in the room. It made him queasy and want to throw up his lunch.

"I-I was just going to lunch a-and..." he began to say. He didn't want to say any more.

"And then they showed up." Spike briskly interrupted. Everyone stopped listening to Hiro and listened to him.

"I watched them push him against the wall. They knocked his books out of his hands then kicked him when he bend over and he fell to the floor. It mad me mad when I saw it. They treated him like crap. If they said I was the ass who started it, then fine. I don't care by this point."

Lord Death nodded his head and sipped his tea. Hiro stared at the weapon in astonishment. He was willing to take all of the blame. Doing so was a risk to his scholarship. He could lose it and go back to Hong Kong, and the incident would be on his academic record for other schools to see. He did not care, and Hiro nearly called him incredible for it.

"Now, now," said Death. "I know you didn't start it. They did by approaching Hiro and throwing some not-very-nice words at you. It's good that the worst that happened were a couple of broken arms. They will be fine, by the way. It was not as though you intended serious harm, I'm sure. After seeing Black Star after you dealt with him, it's fortunate that all it was were broken arms."

"Well, I wanted to do more to them." said Spike

"Spike!!" Hiro hissed.

"No, I want to say it," said Spike. "because you didn't deserve any of that. Respect is important where I'm from, and they had none of it. I wanted to do more to them, yeah. It pisses me off when I see people who don't deserve what Hiro got get treated like shit."

"No, Spike!" Hiro blurted. "It wasn't as bad as it seemed! I'm used to it anyway!"

"Used to it?" Death asked. "You mean to say this is not the first time?"

He shut his mouth, embarrassed to have let that slipped. He tried his hardest to keep his troubles to himself. He used to adore the fame and attention he craved to have, but he always hated the typed of attention that made others pity him. He did not want to be the kid who was the most talked about victim. He hated that word: _victim_. He did not want to be that person.

"Please, do tell." said Death. "It will only help your partner if you say your side of the story."

"Y-Yeah, it is not the first time." he admitted in shame. "I don't know when it started. They have always approached me if they wanted me to by them food from lunch. They're not the only ones to make me get food, but they are kinda aggressive when asking."

"'Aggressive'..." Death quoted. "They put their hands on you, and it is only a tad bit 'aggressive' to you? To me, you do not seem to care much about what is essentially being bullied--abuse, I would call it."

Hiro looked down shamefully.

"You are lucky it did not escalate." said Death. "Had there not been someone to step in, I imagine it would have been worse. Quite frankly, you owe Spike a thank you, so turn to him and thank him for his help."

With his head down, he turned in his seat to face the other. This was humiliating to him.

"Thank you for your help."

"Look up and say it directly to him." said Death.

Hiro glanced up, face reddening, and repeated his line.

"Thank you for your help."

"All else aside," said Stein. "I would like to make a comment. It has only been a few days since you boys have met, and I can see how much stronger your soul wavelengths have connected."

"Yes indeed." said Death. "In such a short time, you seem to be closer by wavelengths. It's not often I get to see this happen."

He leaned forward in his chair. At the same time, Spike leaned back in his chair; it was funny to Hiro.

"Sometimes," said Death. "a powerful connection can bring a person to do things outside of their jurisdiction. Perhaps that was what happened. It further proves that sticking you two together was the right decision."

He leaned back to sit normally. Hiro watched Spike ease his posture and shook his head in amusement.

"I've decided." said Death. "Spike, I want to make arrangements to switch your classes around so you will take training class with Hiro after lunch. You both will need to start working together at some point, so I'm making it happen now. Any objections?"

Any complaints made would be disregarded, so they nodded their heads.

"Fantastic!" Death clapped his hands. "Now that we understand each other and the situation at hand, it's time to decide punishment!"

_~Dong!_

"What?" Death asked. "I can't let you off the hook for breaking arms. It was not an agreed fight where people expect to get hurt, but you _did_ do it in self-defense..."

He tapped his mask and hummed.

"Let's do it like this," he said. "lunch detention in here tomorrow, but I won't add it to your record, so the school board will never know about this. I'll bring cookies for us."

At that moment, Spike liked Lord Death a little bit more.

They were let go in time for the final class hour of the day. There was bliss in the air that made them feel good, like nothing was wrong with the world, and it made them happy; but on the walk home, they were beyond laconic.

Hiro glanced at Spike from time to time when he was not looking. He thought of things to say. He was grateful of him for what he did (even though he still got slapped with punishment). He glanced at him, and to his surprise, he was staring straight back. His eye widened and he looked away and remained that way until home.

For dinner, Hiro made grilled cheese with mushrooms on the inside. He remembered what Spike had said about the grilled cheese he had eaten at home. It was what he felt was best to properly thabk him for what he went through. He was going to also give him a glass of milk, but he had forgotten to go to the the grocery store like he planned after school, so water was served with it.

He was glad to bite into the sandwich and find mushrooms, and he scorfed it down in minutes. Hiro was more slow and ate only a quarter of his sandwich. He felt sick. He drank some water and nuzzled in a blanket on the couch. He took a nap and stayed there well into the night.

He woke up around eleven at night. His shoulder shook from a light force. He struggled at sit up and fought with hia blanket to get it off. Spike was standing behind the couch. Hiro rubbed his eyes and breathed deeply. He was still woozy, but awake.

"Sorry." said Spike. "I thought you meant to go to bed."

"N... No," Hiro murmured. "thanks for that."

He put his feet on the floor. He needed a moment to motivate his weak bones to move. Spike walked around the couch and sat on the opposite end.

"Are you feeling sick?" he asked.

"No," Hiro said. "I think I'm working myself over. I just need to shower and go to bed."

"It's about today, isn't it?" Spike asked.

"A little." Hiro said with a yawn.

"Why do you let yourself be treated like that?"

He blew a sigh, "I think it's easier to go along with it than argue, just look at what happened. You got detention tomorrow."

"I don't mind the detention." said Spike. "You shouldn't let others boss you. You looked like a slave to them."

That was what he accurately was to people, and it was being challenged.

"Don't worry about it." Hiro told him. "I'm used to it."

"That's a problem if you are."


	6. Ch 6 - Practice Makes Perfect

_4:00 am._

That was the time Hiro woke up Friday morning. This always happened on days of importance. He knew there was a test in Stein's first hour class, so his brain woke him up before his alarm was suppose to beep. It was a rough night. He had fallen asleep on the couch then woke up to shower and go sleep in his room.

He stretched his legs and got out of bed. He turned on the lamp on his desk and sat down before his open text book and notes. He cracked his neck and picked up a pencil next to his notebook. He read his notes and the text book and began writing. Page after page, notes were taken over definitions, examples given to describe a definition, pros and cons, dates, and so on.

Time passed faster than he expected. When he first looked out his window, the sky was dawning. His alarm beeped, and he dropped his pencil from flinching. He got up to turn the alarm off then went to his dresser to get dressed. He was feeling a different vibe that morning. Instead of his favorite purple plaid jeans, he chose black skinny jeans. Skinny jeans were a rarety of him, but he couldn't care less.

He left his room and went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. He thought about making pancakes, but they ate that for dinner a couple nights ago. A lightbulb lit his head and he took out a bag of rice from the cabinet. This breakfast was easy. All he needed was to steam the rice and crack in a raw egg and add soy sauce then mix. Ta-da!

He heard a loud yawn behind him. He turned around with two bowls of the rice and was about to greet his roommate.

"Good morning, Spi--"

He paused. His roommate yawned and rubbed his sore neck. He was wearing sweatpants and socks--but no shirt. (Well, he was also wearing his eye patch.) The scrapes from his fight in front of the school had healed nicely into almost microscopic specks and would be gone in another day or two. The only noticeable mark was the cut on his hip, but it was healing appropriately and would not leave a scar. He stretched his arms behind his head, tightening the muscles beneath his belly. His abs were taught while stretching. Hiro blinked, realizing he was gazing intensely at them. His cheeks turned hints of pinks.

"Jesus, man, put a shirt on!" he said.

"Huh...?" He was still half asleep, but then he looked down and realized he was missing a shirt.

"Oh... What's the big deal? We're both guys."

"Dude, just go get dressed." said the blushing Hiro. "You'll have to put a shirt on later anyway, so do it now."

He returned to his room and returned wearing a gray shirt with black jeans. His breakfast was on the coffee table. Hiro was on the couch eating from his bowl and the other joined him.

"So," said Hiro. "it's Friday. How'd you like your first week here?"

Thinking back, his week consisted of moving into his current home, a fight, another fight, and detention.

"Awesome." he said.

They laughed and Hiro took their bowls into the kitchen when they were done with breakfast.

The walk to the academy was rushed. Hiro wanted more time to cram information in his brain before first hour's test. He hurried up the stairs and power walked down the hall to class. A few kids were already present in the classroom studying twenty minutes before the bell was to ring. Hiro went up the rows to his seat and laid out his text book and notes. He buried his nose deep in the book and read like his life depended on it. He exaggerated it did because his parents would kill him if he were to fail and it showed on his progress report at the end of the quarter.

Ten minutes before the bell rang, more students began to appear in the classroom, walking and talking, and making a whole lot of noise. Hiro covered his ears and glared at the text. These people had better things to do than talk, like sitting down and studying for the Goddamn test!

He was so frustrated by the noise that he slammed his text book closed. It would be fine. He knew the chapter from beginning to end. It would be all right. All he needed was an average score to keep his grade intact.

The warning bell rang. Students scurried to make it to their seats. Stein was stacking papers on his desk in a neat pile. As the last few students hurried into the room, and rolled to the door in his chair and closed it. He rolled to his desk and took the stack of papers. The bell rung, and class began.

"Looks like everyone is here." he said. "As you all should know, we have a test today, so put your materials on the floor."

Books were dropped on the floor by everyone's feet and kicked under the empty space of the counter rows.

"Why do I hand out books if they will be abused..." Stein murmured. "You know the usual: talking equals cheating which equals zero, phones equal cheating which equals zero, and for the love of God, no writing answers on the counters."

He stood and walked to the first row, passing a small stack of tests to a student to pass down the row. He does this to all of the rows. He remembered to count one less paper when he stopped by the fourth row because Spike was exempted from the test. Once all of the tests had been distributed, Stein sat in his chair and took out a novel from his desk drawer.

"Turn it in when done and keep quiet for others testing." he said and opened his novel.

Hiro looked down at his test in between his arms. Five questions were evenly spaced on the paper. He turned it over by a corner to peek at the questions on the back, but there were none. He read the directions on the front page.

_If you fail, I am concerned about you._

Stein had made his students stress over this itty bitty thing.

Five questions on a test. Only Five questions. Five points each.

Boy, was he ever so cruel.

He readied his pencil in his right hand and read the first question.

_1\. T__ or F: A soul qualifies as a nutritional meal because it contains valuable vitamins._

He thought it was a joke, not that he was screwed but because it was a no brainier--common misbelief. It's only a ball of chewy nothing. He circled F.

He answered questions 2, 3, and 4 with no struggle. He came to the final question.

_Extra Credit:__ Explain the digestive process of a soul inside a demon weapon's digestive system._

There was that "Oh shit." feeling inside his intestines. He read the line again. Since it was extra credit, he technically did not have to answer it, and answering it would not hurt him. It was the four required answers prior that were important, but that meant if he misses one, he would be majorly fucked without leverage.

He was pressured when he saw people walking down the stairs and turning in their tests at Stein's desk. People were finishing and he was still trying to put words on paper. He took a deep breath and thought back on his notes, but he couldn't fully remember.

More students got up and turned in their tests. He panicked and wrote something to fill the blank space below the question. He rushed down the stairs to Stein's desk and laid his test on the pile in front of the teacher. It was gone--taken and done. He was confident enough on the four required questions, but the extra credit bothered him. At least it was done and over with.

His main worry was gone, and it made his day expeditiously better. His other morning classes hit him with weekend homework he got done before lunch. Come lunchtime, he finally realized the weekend was around the corner. God, was his week insane. How he pulled through, he could not say, and he didn't dare to question it.

His good luck, however, was challenged during lunch. He was heading down the hall when a male student stopped him. He knew what he wanted of him. It was the same routine.

"Hey, Hiro!" said the young man. "You going to lunch?"

The student put a friendly hand on his shoulder as if they were buddy-buddy. Hiro barely knew him personally. This was a person who commonly asks him for food. There was no friendship between them.

"Yeah," said Hiro. "did you want something."

Then all of a sudden, his hand was off his shoulder just as soon as he touched him. the young man stepped back with an odd look on his face.

"Nah, man," said the student. "just wanted to say hi, you know? I hear you got a new partner and all, so congrats, man!"

Hiro was mildly confused by his behavior, but then turned around to proceed to lunch and stopped when he saw Spike standing a few feet ahead, leaning against the wall with his hands in his jean pockets.The student power walked past him, but when he came near Spike, he walked past him from the opposite side if the hall. Then when Hiro approached him, he went from intimidating to welcoming.

"Shouldn't you be in the Death Room for detention?" Hiro asked him.

"There's plenty of time." he said. "I thought I could accompany you to lunch, since I won't be there."

_Accompany_? He sounded too formal, and it also sounded more like a suggestion than an invitation.

"You'll be late." said Hiro.

"There's time." said Spike as he tugged on Hiro's sleeve. "Let's go."

Though he was basically forced to walk to lunch, Hiro took the lead while Spike travelled by his side. Hiro watched the people around them and noticed how certain people walked distantly from then and that those people were the regulars who made him get them lunch.

He smiled at this.

* * *

They reunited after lunch for training class. Sid took the class outside. He had the experienced students train with each other while he took Hiro and Spike to the side to work with them personally.

"Listen up, boys." he said. "I've been instructed by Death to get you two caught up with the class before you can do anything else. I know you're still new to each other, but that won't slow us down... unless I hear some attitude, because I was the kind of man who didn't take complaints all day. Without further ado, today we are starting with basics: meister and weapon working together. Hiro, have you yielded Spike in weapon form yet?"

He had never even seen his partner in weapon form.

"Ever been in weapon form, Spike?" Sid asked the weapon.

Spike nodded.

"Guess we'll start with that." said Sid. "I want to see you yeild him before anything else."

It shouldn't be hard, Hiro thought. He had yielded Excalibur when they were partners for the short period he had him. He held out his hand, nonverbally asking for the other's hand. The weapon got the message quick and practically smacked his hand and squeezed the life out of it. Then--much like he had seen with other weapons--his body flashed a bright blue and his very being morphed its shape.

In his hands formed a shiny black staff, about half his height. On the end of the staff to Hiro's left where Spike was standing was a silver chain. Dangling from the end of the chain was a black, spiky ball with silver spikes. Each spike was several inches long, and a total of five were on the ball--four spikes circling its circumference and one sitting on the opposite end from where the chain was connected. Hiro played with the ball by swaying the staff to and fro. It was surprisingly light despite seeming heavy like lead.

"You're so light." he said to the weapon.

"Thank compatibility for that." said Sid. "You're a funky looking weapon, boy, but you are quite fancy. I haven't seen a morning star in a long time."

"_Flail_." said Spike. "Not a morning star_\--flail_. There's a difference."

"Shesh, I hear ya." said Sid. "I don't have medieval knowledge. We don't get your kind very often. You look like a gladiator holding him, kid."

Sid rubbed his chin.

"Back to basics." he said. "I'm concerned how you'll be able to aim with that spiked ball. It doesn't seem like the greatest accuracy-wise. As long as you got eyes and a sense of aim, then I'm not as concerned. I imagine the damage it'll do when it hits a wall--or someone--will be _nice_."

He nodded his head, thinking of the potential in them.

The bell inside the school rang, Sid looked up and saw his advanced students running to the school. He noticed Hiro was walking away with Spike in his human form.

"Hey, hold on!" he said. "You two stay a minute. I've got a homework assignment for you. Promise me you will practice with each other when you have free time. It's until you get used to each other like this, and maybe you can have some fun and break some things with that _flail_ of yours, Hiro, so you can learn how to use him. The sooner you know how to fight, the sooner you can begin collecting souls. Now begone with you."

The rest of the day blew by after that. Hiro was looking forward to the weekend, but then he remembered what Sid said about practicing using Spike in weapon form. He didn't know how the hell he was supposed to practice or how he wass supposed to kill a monster with a ball on a chain. Was he supposed to swing and hope they die? It was too sketchy.

But then Spike offered a not bad idea while walking home...

"For fun, me and my sister used to draw an cross on a brick wall and swing each other in weapon form and hit the mark." he said. "We could try doing that."

It was not a bad idea at all. Of course, they needed to find a wall to hit that nobody cares about, but it was a good idea. Hiro nodded his head in approval.

While walking, Hiro glanced at Spike when he wasn't looking. He walked on his right so he would go undetected better (thanks to Spike's eyepatch). He wondered why he wore that silly eyepatch. Sure, it was slightly more intimidating, but he could be just as scary without it, unless he really did need it. That possibly being true, he wondered what was wrong with his eye. He never saw him without the eyepatch, and he didn't want to be rude and ask.

"So," he said the closed his mouth. He almost did what he did not want to do and ask about the eyepatch, so he quickly changed his previous question. "you said you have a sister?"

"I do." said Spike. "She's my little sister."

"How little?"

"She's two years younger." he said.

"Name?"

"Harumi."

"And she's a flail, too?"

"Yes indeed," he said. "but she doesn't care for collecting souls and stuff like that. She's too soft to do any of that. She gets too scared of things and has to be told what to do. I sort of have to push her a little into those things that scare her, and then she's fine. It makes me wonder how she's doing at home."

Hiro grew up an only child, so he couldn't understand what it was like having blood to protect. He sounded like he cared deeply for her. Hiro blushed.

_So caring._

"I'm an only child." he said to brush it off. "Can't say I know what it's like."

* * *

Dinner was oven pizza--quick and easy so they could do what Sid asked of them.

As the sky was beginning to yellow, the temperature of the desert began to drop and cool. Hiro had to wear a white jacket to keep warm. He lent Spike a black hoodie and they took to the streets, searching for a place to practice without looking suspicious.

They found an abandoned brick building. They went around back amd found an opening large enough. Spike sprayed a red X on the building with spray paint he brought along at head level.

"How do you do this with your sister?" asked Hiro.

"We just take each other in weapon form and start swinging." said Spike.

He threw the spray can over a chain link fence behind them. He stepped back next to Hiro.

"This feels weird." said Hiro. "It feels like we're gonna be loud."

"'Course we will be." said Spike. "I'm a metal ball that'll be thrown at a brick wall. It's kinda fun once you get into it."

He took Hiro by the hand. Surprisingly, he was being gentle in his grab. As he begin to change into weapon form, Hiro gripped his hand tightly and held the staff of a flail.

"I don't know how to... proceed with this." he said, feeling awkward knowing there would be a lot of noise made.

"Do whatever you want." said Spike.

He gripped the staff in both hands. To gain some momentum, he started swinging the ball at his side, swinging and swinging it in full circles. He took a step forward and swung with all his might. He closed his eyes and heard a loud boom from the ball hitting the bricks. He opened one eye and saw the spiky ball stuck three inches above the center of the X. It was halfway embedded into the wall. Pieces of brick scattered behind him by a few feet.

"Not _too_ bad." said Spike. "Look at it this way: It would've been a great move to hit someone on top of the head."

His violent remark was flattering to him.

He got the ball unstuck and brushed off the dusty red spikes. He spent an hour swinging and breaking the side of the building. It was rhythmic to swing the ball in a full 360 and watch pieces of brick fly past him. The X was broken away the more he hit it in different places until it was gone to join the broken pieces on the ground around his feet.

When the cross they made was gone, the sky was dark blue and colder. Hiro covered his head with his jacket hood. He looked around them at the pieces of red brick and dust. Stepping on them made crunching noises under his feet.

"We should probably go home now." said Hiro.

His weapon glew blue and Spike took shape in human form. He put his hand on his shoulder and cracked his neck.

"We doing this again tomorrow?" he asked.

"We may as well." said Hiro. "I don't think tonight went too bad. It's only until I know what I'm doing."

"You weren't bad." said Spike. "You just need to work on aiming."

"Yeah."

The street lights were on to light their way home. Their noses turned pink from the cold. While walking, Spike asked if they would be doing anything else besides training tomorrow.

"I don't plan on going anywhere." said Hiro. "You can go wherever whenever you want. I don't care."

"But I still don't know what's in town or how to get there. I thought you'd show me what else there is at some point. I thought we could hang out for a while."

His heart skipped a beat. He stopped and looked him dead in the eye.

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"I mean," said the weapon. "if I'm gonna be living with you, then I want to take the time to get to know you better. You seem cool to me, and you're friendly as is; plus, we sort of have to get along. I wanna have some fun while I'm here, and you know where everything is, so why not?"

He was serious. Hiro bit his lip to control his thrill.

_Partner, Hiro, remember he's your partner._

"Fine," he said. "we can go somewhere tomorrow."

It was not how he planned to spend his Saturday, but it wouldn't kill to get out of the apartment for an hour or two.

To top it off, he said he thought he was cool. Nobody's ever called him cool before. For once, he felt accepted. He could get used to this partner thing. He began thinking about how well they would work together, collecting souls and proving their value. They would get along perfectly, he thought.

Little did they know that their peaceful walk would be interrupted by an assassin watching from the shadows.

* * *

**Hey y'all!**

**Sorry this chapter took SOOOO long. I was stuck with finals and dealing with college classes. I was also focussing on my original work(s) on wattpad and have a crap ton of ideas for it and more stories****.**

**I can't**** guarantee how soon a chapter here will be up, but I haven't abandoned it ****yet. Thanks**** for reading and keep an eye out for updates!**


	7. Ch 7 - Nothing Personal

Hiro yawned, tired from the time and the bitter night. He was looking forward to a warm shower and then bed.

He blew into his hands and shoved them back in his jacket pockets. He glanced over his shoulder to check how Spike was holding up.

"You can have the shower first when we get home." said Hiro. "You hungry? I can make a snack."

He heard the weapon's stomach growl. There was enough scratch at home to make cookies.

"Okay." said the weapon.

They proceeded down the street. The apartment was not far, and they were in no hurry.

Hiro felt a hand on his shoulder. He glanced back at Spike, who was looking behind them. Someone was farther down the street walking in the same direction as them. Footsteps echoed from where the person was coming from. Hiro recognized the person.

"You've gotta be kidding me." he said aloud.

Approaching them was Black Star. Right away, there was bad juju. As he came closer, they saw a familiar look in his eyes. They were set on a target.

Spike glanced at Hiro. He held out his arm and stepped in front of him.

"You stay back." he told him.

He was only coming closer, the echoes from his footsteps increasing in volume as he walked to them. Hiro noticed he was carrying a kunai knife, possibly the same one he used to throw at them at school. He twirled it in his fingers, not missing a beat in the movement of his digits.

"Spike, let's go." Hiro said and tugged on his arm, but he didn't budge.

"Spike, let's go now." he said louder. No movement.

Black Star stopped a few feet from them, still twirling the knife in his hands. His eyes were set one one of them, glaring with rage.

"Spike..." he said, catching the knife. He clenched it tightly in his fist.

"Spike, come on," Hiro begged. "before this gets out of hand."

Nothing he said could get him to move. He felt powerless and remained behind him, the only way he could feel some security.

Black Star had a smirk on his face. He had healed from his fight with Spike, being the rapid healer he was, but Hiro worried about a second fight.

"I see your game." said Black Star. "You strut around, showing off what you can do. I get that--you're new. You wanna be made known here, and you've done a good job now that some are scared crapless of you. You can show off all you want, newb, but just because you can break bones and scare people doesn't mean you've gain the respect from top students such as myself. At the end of the day, you're still the new kid, and new kids don't become stars right away."

Hiro shook his head. He was being so full of himself.

"Oh come on, Black Star," he said. "you're only pissed off that you had your ass handed to you by Spike. He's not trying to show off to anybody."

"Says you." said Black Star. "You don't know what his real intentions may be, and who's to say you know? You've only been his meister for not even a week."

He began twirling the knife again and pointed it at them.

"Here's a bit of advice from a fellow student," he said. "you wanna be on top, find a meister that matches your strength. No offense, Hiro, but you are nowhere near the realms of what _real_ power is. With Excalibur, you barely lifted a finger, but only because the guy was insanely strong and you bowed to him. Let's face it, you haven't manage to keep a partner back then, and beating up a brick wall won't get you souls. You're holding back his real strength, and it'll get you two nowhere."

He knew he was trying to get a rise from them, so he kept his peace, but he felt his words in his chest. He couldn't help being weaker and inexperienced. Had he the strength, he would bop one in the bastard's face, but he was weak like he was told.

"I don't care if Hiro is weak like you say."

He looked up at Spike. He was still holding out his arm, keeping his meister behind him. Hiro, at that moment, felt a skip in his heart. He heard his honesty, and it made him feel light and happy.

"Hiro is the nicest person I've come to know here. He has incredible potential and kindness, and nobody respects him for it. He always asks me if I need anything and has made my stay here feel like home. I can not ask for a better meister and friend than him. Listen to me, Black Star, I don't care if my name here is good or bad. I'm not here to compete with you or anybody. You call it a competition. I think I know your game. You want to test your skills."

Black Star lowered his arm, pointing the knife at the sidewalk.

"I'm not that naive." said Spike. "I see it in your smile. You're the one acting as if you want to show off, but you're not. You want to prove your strength, and I get that, and this is the only way you know how."

Out of the stillness of the night, a snicker from Black Star erupted into full laughter. His hearty laugh caught them off guard. When he calmed down, taking deep breaths, he shook his head.

"Man, you don't get me at all!" he said, holding in his laughter. "But you're smarter than I thought you were. It has nothing to do with competition between me and you."

"If it's not that, then what's your deal with me?" asked Spike. "Why do you seem to hate me so much?"

Black Star tossed his knife and caught it by the grip.

"Just to clarify, I don't hate you." he said. "If anything, I like your attitude. I see that you want justice and are protective of others, and that's what I like. It's not about who's stronger or about being on top. At this school, there comes a time when you look at someone and hope they have your back when you need them the most. I want to see if you're worthy of my trust. I want to see if I can rely on you when it comes down to it and vice versa."

Spike lowered his arm, no longer being protective of his meister. He almost thought it was a lie, but the smile told him it was the truth.

"Does Tsubaki know you think this?" he asked.

"Oh, she doesn't know, no sir." said Black Star. "I don't want her involved 'cause it has nothing to do with her. She doesn't need any more of my drama in her life. Sometimes, you gotta give your partner a break from you, and she likes you both too much to fight with you."

He looked down at the kunai, his reflection staring back at him, and smiled before looking up.

"This is nothing personal." he said. "After this, no more fights, I promise, and I don't wanna fight just you. You have a meister, so he should be the one getting physical."

Spike glanced behind at Hiro. They knew there was no getting out of it. Hiro sighed heavily, but nodded.

Spike's body glew bright blew. Hiro held out his hands, grabbing the black staff of the flail. He took a feep breath. His nerves were running wild all of a sudden. He blew a sigh, mentally preparing himself. He can't screw this up for his partner. He was not weak.

_I can do this. I am a meister._

Black Star moved first, sprinting at full speed with his knife cocked back. Hiro waited, watching him quickly approach him, and at the last minute, jumped to the side. His left leg remained in place as he moved, sticking out and tripping Black Star. (As an amateur fighter, it was his best move.)

He fell forward, his face grinding on the street. The knife slid across the street and fell into a storm drain. While he was down, Spike yelled at Hiro to attack.

"Hiro, don't stand around! Hurry while he's vulnerable!"

A small part of him didn't want to cause serious harm to Black Star. He snapped out of it and whirled the spiked ball of the flail above his head.

"No hard feelings!" he hollered and brought the heavy ball down.

He was so scared of seriously hurting him that he missed. The ball hit the pavement next to Black Star's hip, cracking the street and making a new hole.

Black Star rolled on his back and jumped to his feet. While his knees were bended, he lunged and tackled Hiro. Their bodies rolled into the middle of the street. Hiro grabbed his weapon with both hands, and using the butt of the staff, rammed it into the side of Black Star's head. It was enough to get him off him so he could get up.

He looked for Black Star, but he was gone. He was weary, slowly walking off the street to the sidewalk. His head turned in every direction. Any direction he wasn't facing made him nervous and look that way again to make sure.

A shiver ran up his spine from the lingering presence behind. Before he could turn around, a pair of arms wrapped over his arms and around his torso. He couldn't swing his weapon to defend himself. He was lifted into the air and slammed on his shoulder.

He jerked as much as he could but couldn't free himself. As a last resort, he fought as hard as he could to pull in his right leg. His leg curled to his body, the sole of his shoe facing Black Star's chest, and kicked out as hard as he could. Black Star fell back on his butt, the wind knocked out of his lungs.

Hiro scrambled to his feet and swung his weapon without thinking. The ball came down like a meteorite onto the palm of Black Star's hand, knocking his hand into the street. The ball came crashing down on his hand, the street cracking underneath.

They were speechless, both staring at the spiky ball resting on top of the hand. Black Star let out a scream, which made Hiro scream.

"It's in my hand!" Black Star wailed. "I feel it _inside_ my hand!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Hiro screamed.

He pulled on the staff and the spiked ball pooped out of the pavement. Hiro expected there to be more blood, but it was lacking red color. That was because the hand was completely fine. Miraculously, the spike on the ball penetrated the street between Black Star's fore and middle fingers. When he noticed his hand was uninjured, Black Star snickered then released his full laughter.

"That is NOT funny!" Hiro shouted. "I thought you were hurt!"

Black Star laughed until his lungs were too weak. He stood and brushed dust off his clothes, still snickering.

"Even if I had a hole in my hand," he said. "worrying you'll hurt the person you're fighting isn't too good of a thing. I can tell from that first swing. You were _so off_."

"I-I couldn't help it!" Hiro stammered. "I don't wanna put you in the hospital!"

"Come on," Black Star point his thumb at himself. "you know it takes a lot more than that to put me out of commission. I am _the_ Black Star, after all."

Hiro lowered his weapon. Spike glew a bright blue and morphed into human form. Once in human form, he put his right hand on his left shoulder and cracked his neck.

"Listen, Hiro," said Black Star. "you can't be holding back. Holding back gets you nowhere. You have to go for it. I know you got the ability. You showed confidence with your last partner. You can do it again with Spike, and when you got it, let's have another fight, but one that's much more exciting and daring when we're going at it with full strength."

He held out his hand, knuckles bruised from being crushed against the street. Hiro stared at it. His lips curled into a smile and he couldn't resist grabbing it. Black Star squeezed his hand and grinned.

"But I'm gonna win." he said.

"We'll see." said Hiro.

They parted. Hiro and Spike turned in the direction towards home and went on their way.

"And Hiro?" said Black Star. They turned back around.

"I don't think you're weak. Like I said, you got the potential, and I think you guys are a really good match. You're gonna get there someday, I can see it."

He flashed a thumbs up and smiled wide. Hiro froze and let it soak for a second before raising a thumbs up, unable to resist the friendliness.

* * *

The timer in the kitchen dinged. Hiro put on an oven mit and opened the oven. The cookies were the perfect color. He took them out and used a spatula to set them on a cooling rack next to the stove. He waited for them to cool and collected them onto a plate to bring into the front room.

Spike was on the couch watching Netflix. Hiro set the plate on the coffee table and sat next to him. Spike reached and grabbed one, scorfing it down and then reaching for a second one.

"I take it that you like them." said Hiro as he took a cookie.

The other nodded, biting into his fourth cookie.

"They're great! Cookies are my go-to food."

Hiro couldn't help but smile at him eating cookie after cookie.

"You're a great cook. You make it seem easy. I burn everything I try to make."

He rolled his eyes, but his cheeks became warm. He shook his head.

"Yeah, well... people are different like that. It's natural like common sense to me."

"Hiro?" Spike asked.

"Hmm?"

"About tonight with Black Star," he began. "I've been wondering something I'd like to ask."

He thought he had a weird question about Black Star. Anything to do with him was a mystery.

"What's bugging ya?"

"It's not a bother, really. It's about what he said," he said. "about you having a partner before me. Did you use to have one?"

His face wrinkled in disgust thinking about it. He was being brought back to those dark times.

"Yeah, there was one before you." he said. "It didn't work out between us."

"How come?"

"It just didn't." he said. "He wasn't very easy to live with."

He thought about the sneezing and shivered.

"That's in the past, though." he said. "That was two years ago when I was a freshman. He's not a student here, so I don't see him anymore. I don't think you'll ever meet him. Don't worry about it--eat."

All that remained on the plate were crumbs. Hiro took care of the dishes and told Spike to take his shower. He was in the kitchen, scrubbing the life out of the cookie sheet with a dishcloth and making little progress on the burnt parts.

He threw the dishcloth on the counter and rested his hands on the sink. The bwck of his neck was sore like his arm and legs and everything else. He took a deep breath and sighed. He reached for the dishcloth and grabbed it, only to see that there was another hand grabbing the cloth. He was then lightly pushed to the side and his position in front of the sink was taken by Spike. His hair was wet from the shower and slicked back to keep wet strands out of his face.

"I got this." he said. "Take a break tonight."

He began scrubbing the cookie sheet. Hiro watched him for a minute then left the kitchen, a smile written across his face.

He took a shower then went to bed. He could hear metal sounds from the kitchen. It sounded like Spike was putting away the cookie sheet in the lower cabinets. He snuck around the corner and peeped into the kitchen from the hallway. He watched Spike wipe down the counter and stovetop. The weapon casually made his way around the kitchen cleaning until he was facing in the direction of his meister. He didn't recognize him until he looked up and saw him behind the corner, and he smiled at him.

"Goodnight, Hiro." he said.

Hiro blushed a little and said, "G'night..." and shuffled down the hall to his room.

* * *

**My bois!!!**

**Sorry this one took a while. Classes are going awesome btw, and that's the problem! I have to keep focusing _while_ holding a REAL job (haha how I wish writing was easier) _while_ staying true to my promise on updating. I got BIG plans for next chapter in regards to poor Hiro and his emotions. Don't get your hopes up cuz the lemon/yaoi ain't happening yet (wink)!**

**Thanks again for waiting and stay tuned for more!**


	8. Ch 8 - Easier Said Than Done

He wants to scream. No part of it was right. He wants to run into his room, lock the door, hide under his sheets, and scream from the top of his lungs into his pillow.

What has caused such distress in this young lad? What is the reason for this misery; this cruel perturbation of health?

He has a crush on his weapon.

This has been his terrible malady for (and yes, he counted) for the four weeks and two days they have lived together. It wasn't an immediate feeling, this queasiness in his stomach. They were strangers at first, after all, but then they spent time together and got to know each other better. By the end of their first week as meister and weapon, Hiro only had a tiny crushy-crush anyone can have on an attractive person, but after learning more about him and seeing his qualities, his little crush exploded into full-on feelings.

For starters, the weapon was plain freaking hot. His skin; his muscles; the sharpness of his rich eye; those sharp teeth that are perfect for nibbling. His personality is just as good as his looks, too, with how friendly and polite he is to Hiro. Many at the academy seem intimidated by him after the incidents that occurred in the beginning of his stay, and it works perfectly for Hiro. If he stands by Spike, nobody approaches him. He hasn't been "asked" to buy lunch since the broken arms incident. He still sees those senior boys around the academy in casts and slings. They give him dirty looks, but with Spike around, they keep their distance. Hiro learned early on that his weapon is protective, particularly towards his meister, and it warms him up so well--such a tough guy with a soft spot.

Yet he feels guilty for these emotions, and not a good guilt where one indulges into its pleasures. They were meister and weapon. It felt taboo to engage in behavior such as that. Then again, some partners are in committed relationships. Maka and Soul have been dating for two years, but their relationship is boy-girl.

He despises that part of himself so much. Not many know of his preferences except for Maka. She was the only one he trusted to tell because he knew that she wouldn't judge him. He tried expanding his tastes towards women, but nothing majorly clicked with him. He decided that nobody else is to know about it, and then he realized that there was no need to force himself into heterosexual relationships, because all he needed to do is act the part. Being a pervert painted him as a horn-dog, but one that is _straight_. It was easy to fake it. He wasn't attracted to most of the men at school, except for a few small crushes here and there, and he thought he was doing a good job of hiding everything, until he got a partner.

It made him extremely nervous every day because Spike didn't seem to be the type who likes men. To him, Spike was too macho to be into that sort of thing, and if he were the macho type, Hiro has the constant thought that if he were to find out it would not end well. He imagines the weapon going to Lord Death and demand a new living situation and to be out of the partnership, that being the least violent vision. Although Hiro did not want to be partners with him at first, he has grown to his loyalty and protectiveness, and he would die the day he loses it. He thinks about asking him about his opinions, just to see his reaction and answer. Then again, he doesn't want to hear the answer that is opposed to such behavior and doesn't want anything to do with people like that, so he keeps quiet.

He sometimes wonders if he should go to Lord Death himself and ask for the partnership to be terminated--end it before it gets out of hand and feelings are destroyed. They could probably still be friends afterwards, and maybe he wouldn't lose the protection and friendliness, but he doesn't want to risk losing that.

So he keeps quiet and moves forward with his day; his week; the entire month, and manages to pull through on his own without a way to vent his anger towards this situation. If he can make it this long, who's to say he can't make it another month or a year or for the rest of his time at the academy? He was used to keeping his life to himself, after all.

* * *

Sid took the class outside for practice. The best part of his job is that the students know what they're doing, so he doesn't have to stress over their performance, but he does have a pair to worry about. The second best thing about his job is that he doesn't have to pay attention to his star students, which gives him the opportunity to train his less experienced students.

"You boys are looking _ni~ce_!" said Sid. "Seems to get better every week!"

Hiro smiled at the praise, swinging Spike in weapon form over his shoulder, the ball of the flail swaying behind him. They have finished a demonstration of their progress. Hiro had gotten better at aiming and had mastered how to properly swing his flail without being reckless.

"I never thought I'd see the day," said Sid. "but now I can say that I have confidence in you collecting souls."

Hiro smiled then felt a turn in his gut. Collecting souls... It was going to happen sooner or later.

"I'll notify Lord Death at the end of today." said Sid. "He will most definitely be pleased by this."

The bell inside rang and they were dismissed with the class. The final class of the day was turned into a study hour. Stein has enough confidence that his students learn well on their own without his guidance as a teacher. It's a no-brainer to read a text book, and he sees some days as too bothersome to give a lecture. It gives him time to catch up on his readings on rare species of animals (that he may or may not dissect).

About halfway through the class, there was a knock at the door, but no one entered the classroom. Stein put down the novel he had been reading and got up to answer the door. He pushed up his glasses and opened the door to see who was interrupting his reading time. It was Spirit.

"Hey." said Stein first.

"Hey," said Spirit. "I'm here to steal some of your students for Lord Death."

Stein stepped to the side. "Please," he said. "take as many as you'd like."

Stein entered the classroom and scanned the rows for the students he wanted to take. He them sitting in their usual seats, and pointed at them then gave the come hither motion.

"Come with me."

* * *

"I don't understand what the issue is." said Kid to his father.

They were in the Death Room waiting for Spirit to bring the requested students. Lord Death was inside his mirror before his son, who was trying to make his father change his mind over something Kid needed.

"Now Kid," said Death. "I've already told you that you are too young."

"I'm seventeen." said Kid. "You're the one who said I am hardly a boy anymore. How can I no longer be a boy but also not yet be a man?"

If Death had eyeballs, he'd be rolling them in a full three sixty. His son sure knew how to be persistent with what he wants.

"Don't take it personally." said Death. "I love Liz, too, but you both are too young. You just turned seventeen."

"But--"

"Hush, you." said Death. "Can you even hear what you're saying right now?"

He fell silent, studying his child's face. Those golden eyes had passion in them, and whenever he wanted something, he got it. If he didn't, then he would push until he got what he wanted, but Death wasn't allowing him to push.

"I admire your passion and commitment," he said. "and if anything, this world needs more people like that, but Kid, you and Liz are too young _and_ are still in school. Don't you think you should wait until after graduation before asking her?"

The second after he finished talking, Kid opened his mouth.

"I've been waiting," he said. "and I'm tired of it."

"I know you are," said Death. "but not all young marria--"

He heard footsteps and the debate was cut short. Spirit walked down the hall of many guillotines with Hiro and Spike following. He had to switch from his fatherly side to his very upbeat side.

"Welcome, welcome!" he said. "Many thanks for bringing them, Spirit."

Spirit stood by the mirror and Lord Death clapped his hands.

"I've heard some good news from Sid!" he said. "You two are catching up, it seems. I can't tell you how excited I am for you, but let's slow our roll. You haven't collected any souls yet."

"Which is why you're here." said Kid. "Normally, you would select a mission yourselves, but since you are new, we have preselected one for you."

Death nodded and said, "And I see you both capable of it, but beware that any mission is dangerous. The people you are hunting for are corrupted with a hunger for power; thus, no mercy should be shown to them."

Hiro and Spike nodded their heads, fully understanding the risks.

"Now," said Death. "in California, there have been a string of murders by a man named Zodiac. We have received recent reports of sightings in the city. He has to be exterminated immediately. This is your first hunt, so I expect there to be nervousness, but don't let your fears get in the way, otherwise you'll be his next victims."

Lovely, they have to obtain the soul of a serial killer. It sounded like a cakewalk for experienced students.

"Which is why you won't be doing this alone." Death continued. "You will be supervised, but you won't be assisted, of course. Having your supervisor help you would be cheating."

"Who is our supervisor?" asked Hiro.

"I've asked Maka and Soul," said Death. "and they said they don't mind, so when you are ready to hunt, go to them first and they will watch you, but not help you, unless you're about to die."

Hiro didn't have a problem with that. He liked Maka and Soul, and they were some of the top students, so he felt more comfortable with the task at hand.

"Remember," said Death. "he is a sinister man, and an intelligent one. Be on your guard; don't fall for his mind tricks. Words are only weapons if you allow them to be."

They nodded their heads.

"Good," said Death. "now go prepare yourselves. When you are ready, remember to go to Maka and Soul first, but let's not wait ages while this psychopath is out and about."

They were promptly kicked out of the death room and sent back to class by Spirit. With the extra three parties gone, Death had a final moment with his son.

"Have I made myself clear earlier?" he asked him. "I'm not against the idea, son, but do you understand why I'm saying no?"

Kid held back his smart comeback. "Yes, Father, I understand." he said.

"Good," said Death. "and I don't want to hear about it again until you're older, and that doesn't mean a day older."

* * *

"Holy crap," said Hiro. "I really don't wanna do this now."

Meister and weapon were walking home together like they have always done. Hiro was having a panic attack after Death had given them their first serious task. They knew it was going to happen eventually, but why the fuck now? He didn't feel the tiniest bit ready for it.

"I'm sure it will be fine." said Spike. "We have to start collecting souls eventually, so it may as well be now."

He was sounding more confident that Hiro.

"Easier said than done." said Hiro. "I've never collected souls before. I don't know where the hell to begin with it."

And then Spike said something that put Hiro on pins and needles.

"That's why you have me," said Spike. "and that's why I have you."

His heart began to flutter like it had hundreds of times before. _This guy..._ he looked too much like a punk-ass to be saying shit like this.

They both agreed to wait until the following night to begin the hunt so they (mainly Hiro) would have time to mentally prepare for it. Come the next night when the sky was burning orange from the setting sun, a certain someone (again, Hiro) was still not prepared to walk out the front door.

"I've changed my mind." he said. "Let's do this tomorrow night instead."

Spike rolled his eyes (or the eye that could be seen) because he knew he would be hearing the same excuse tomorrow night again.

"You'll do fine," said Spike. "now let's go. I've already told Maka and Soul that we're doing this tonight."

"Ugh," Hiro moaned. "why did you have to tell theeeeeeeeeem..."

After twenty minutes of pitiful bickering at the front door, they were finally on their way to Maka and Soul's apartment across the street. Hiro was slouching the entire five minutes to their home, wanting to die and repeating to himself in his head how much he wanted to jump off the highest roof of the DWMA.

Spike took the pleasure of knocking on the door, since Hiro was too busy acting like a child. The door immediately opened, and they were greeted by Maka. Hiro stood up a little straighter, feeling better after seeing her friendly smile.

"Hey, Maka," said Hiro. "we're... uh... ready to go now."

"Great!" she said, turning back into the apartment. "Soul, Hiro and Spike are here."

The death scythe came into view in the doorway and leaned against it, casually looking at the visitors with his usual grouchy face.

"Hey," he grunted. "we going now?"

"Yep, we're going." said Maka. "Are you guys ready?"

"Yep." said Spike.

"I guess." said Hiro.

"Great!" said Maka as she turned back into the apartment and hollered, "Crona, we're leaving! Don't forget the dishes!"

They exited the apartment and Maka closed the door. Maka and Soul took the lead outside, but after that, they said that Hiro and Spike were suppose to be the ones taking the lead, not them, since their only job was to supervise their actions. Hiro and Spike looked at each other, both waiting for the other to make a decision, resulting in no one knowing what to do. To make everyone's life easier, Maka announced that she would use soul perception to set the newbs on the right track.

"How does that work?" asked Spike.

"I can't exactly explain it," she said. "but it makes soul hunting a lot simpler when you can sorta 'read' where a person is. I've been told it's like a radar, almost. Think of it like that."

Everyone gave her a moment of silence so she may concentrate. Hiro watched her intensely as she silently searched for what they were looking for. He was admiring her effort and always had, and low-key wanted to be like her. She had it all in his eyes: power; respect; lots of friends; a lover, and she knew how to manages all of that at once with a smile on her face.

"I'm sensing one other soul around here." she said. "It's a Kishin Egg."

"Where is it?" asked Soul.

"A few blocks from here." said Maka.

* * *

**My Bois!**

**Long time no see!**

**In case some of you already caught on, I stuck my own reference in the story! If you haven't caught on yet, I'll explain it after a certain point (possibly at the end of the next chapter).**

**Thanks for waiting on this chapter! Always sorry for the wait!**


	9. Ch 9 - I like How You Tremble

**WARNING!**

**This chapter contains light content of rape.**

* * *

Hiro and Spike walked through the streets of Death City, the sky now a dusk purple with tints of pink over the horizon. Maka and Soul followed them from behind. Maka was giving hints to where they should be going, but neither of them told the pair specifically where to go. This was their hunt to complete while the most experienced pair supervises their first kill.

Spike became the one to lead at the front of the party. Meanwhile, Meister Hiro hid behind his weapon, cautiously keep an eye out for suspicious characters. On occasion, he glanced behind to see Maka and Soul. They kept to themselves, holding hands as they followed. Hiro blushed lightly then turned back around.

_Sure, rub in the fact that I'm single._

"You guys aren't going the right way." said Maka.

The group stopped, some groaning that they took a wrong path (Hiro). While telling them that they went the wrong way was helpful, it was irritating that she wasn't at least offering a new direction.

Hiro and Spike went back the way they had been walking, Maka and Soul following closely and decided to take a shortcut through an alley to another street. Once there, they turned to Make to check on their progress.

"Getting warmer." Maka sang.

Hiro felt a sting in his chest. They were getting closer to the one called Zodiac. He felt another panic attack coming upon him, so he tried to simmer it by making conversation with Maka.

"So, this Zodiac guy," he said. "do you know anything about him?"

"Some," said Maka. "Lord Death told me about him today."

"Is he strong?"

"Lord Death doesn't know for sure." she said. "He says that his words are his main weapon. How he uses words, I don't know."

He remembered what Lord Death told him the other day...

_"Remember, he is a sinister man, and an intelligent one. Be on your guard; don't fall for his mind tricks."_

Perhaps that was a warning towards his greatest weapon, Hiro theorized.

"Is he smart?" he asked.

"Supposedly," said Maka. "but we won't know that until we find him."

He swallowed the drool building up in his cheeks. He glanced at Spike, who was leading the group with a confidence in his step. He seemed as though he wanted to find this Zodiac character sooner than him.

"Hold on, guys." said Maka.

The boys stopped and turned to her. She was looking at a brick building. On the wall was a symbol of some sort. It reminded everyone of a sniper scope. A large black circle was drawn larger than a human head, and the perpendicular lines of the circle extended beyond its line, fading at the ends into thin points as if the person drawing them was in a rush.

"Lord Death showed me a letter with this symbol." said Maka. "This is the signature of Zodiac."

Every organ inside Hiro dropped to his shoes. "A signature?" he asked. "What, like marking his territory or something?"

"I don't know." said Maka. "I only know this from a letter Lord Death showed me that was written by Zodiac."

"What did the letter say?" asked Spike.

"He was bragging," said Maka. "about all of the souls he had taken; he sounded pretty high on himself."

She rubbed her finger on the symbol, staining her glove with black ink.

"If this is here," she said. "then he may be close."

"Is he?" asked Hiro.

"Find out for yourself." she said.

_Ugh..._

The proceeded in the direction they had been walking. By this point, Hiro was on high alert. He remained close to Spike, having faith that he would protect him. He accidentally bumped into his arm while walking too close, surprised to realized he was that close to him and blushed. Spike glanced at him, then smiled as if it wasn't a problem.

"Nervous?" he asked.

"Kinda." said Hiro, embarrassed.

Spike reached behind and patted his back hard. "You'll get over it." he said, making the already blushing Hiro turn redder. He regretted his decision and backed away a few inches to walk behind the group. Maka realized his attempt to hide and backed up to join him.

"You're nervous, I can tell." she said.

"There's that issue," he said. "and then there's... well..."

He trailed off, realizing he was saying too much. He trusted Maka more than anybody else, but he felt the need to be private. He mentally sighed, needing someone to vent his emotions towards. He needed at least one person who would listen and not spread the news like tweeting birds.

"And then there's... the guy in the front." he said, raising his hand and gesturing towards Spike. Maka realized how secretive he was being and kept her voice down so the conversation would remain private.

"Did something happen between you guys?" she asked.

"No," he said, turning red a second time. "I just... it's like..."

Originally, he was going to say every word in the dictionary to describe the hotness of his weapon partner, but his words got lost, and he was stuttering again. Maka, however, instantly understood what he was trying to say, and a smile grew on her face.

"_Oh_, I follow you." she said sinisterly, lightly bumping his shoulder. "He is a sexy beef cake, isn't he?"

"Shut up!" he hissed, face burning red from blush.

She giggled, "There's nothing wrong with that. So, he's your type, huh?"

"Shut up! Shut up!" he hissed, regretting his decisions once again. "I'm not talking to you anymore!"

He crossed his arms and fell behind the group, excluding himself from all persons. Maka looked back at him and wink, still having a few giggles. Hiro stuck out his tongue and ignored her. Jesus, why was this so hard for him? Of course, he knew it was because he wasn't used to any of this. He was never open to begin with, and to have these feelings... he was disgusted that they were overpowering him.

"Don't be like that." said Maka with a smile. "We're getting closer."

He didn't want to think about it and rolled his eyes, pretending it wasn't important.

His sulking caused him to be a few feet behind the group, and he intended on keeping his distance from Maka and Spike so he could get a grip on himself. After a few minutes, he felt better and started walking faster so he could catch up. He felt a hand on the back of his shirt and he stopped, thinking it was Spike, but then he realized Spike was far ahead of him.

His heartbeat went into overdrive and he picked up speed. Another hand grabbed his right arm and pulled him backwards. The hand that grabbed his shirt covered his mouth with a cloth. It was very sweet to his nose, so sweet that it soothed him into drowsiness. He jerked back and forth using the strength he still had, but it was no use. He was sleepy and could see that the group walk walking away, nobody noticing the events behind them.

He managed to grab the hand covering his mouth and tried to pull it off. His senses were seduced by the need for sleep. His eyelids fought to remain open. If he were to let them close for a second, he would let himself drift into dreamland. The hand over his mouth clenched over his nose, making it difficult for him to breathe and contributing to his already sleepy state.

_No, oh God, no..._

He reached out to them knowing it was fruitless, but he wanted to try. The hand on his face removed the cloth, but the sweetness of it remained in his senses. His legs grew tired and weak, his body leaning against whoever was behind him. He felt his shoe heels drag across the street and knew he was being dragged. Then, out of the little bit of strength left in him, he made a final attempt to make his situation known, shouting as loud as his weakened lungs would allow him before succumbing to sleep.

"SPIKE!"

Spike whipped around upon hearing his meister. He saw Hiro unconsciously slumped against a figure. The creature was concealed by a black hoodie. Their arms were wrapped around the boy, holding him close to their thin, shady figure. The hands holding the boy had long, bony fingers that were thick at the joints. The skin was dull without much lively color, deprived from sunlight.

The figure put their arms around Hiro's back and lifted him into the air, throwing him over their shoulder to carry him fireman style. Spike's pupil dilated, locking his sights on the figure. He darted past Maka and Soul, who had also taken note of what was unfolding.

"Soul!" hollered Maka.

Without a word, the death scythe took hold of his meister's hand and changed into weapon form. She gripped her scythe tightly, following Spike towards the fiend.

Spike quickly approached the foe, his arm cocked back in a fist. The figure lifted their leg, swung it far back, and kicked it forward at the most perfect of angles. Their blue sneaker met with Spike's chest, violently knocking him back. His body flew down the street, colliding with Maka. They tumbled over each other, coming to a stop in the middle of the street. Spike looked up, seeing that the street was empty except for him, Maka, and Soul. Hiro was gone.

"Hiro!" he hollered, scrambling to get on his feet. He didn't hear the response he was hoping for.

"Hiro! Hiro!" he repeatedly yelled. It was no use.

Soul morphed back into his human form, crouching at Maka's side. He put his hand on her back and wiped a smudge of dirt off her cheek.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah..." she said. "that was him. That was Zodiac."

"Dammit, Maka!" yelled Spike. They looked up at the weapon, who was towering over them

"You were the one who knew where he was! You should have mentioned he was behind us!"

Soul stood up, coming between the raging bull and his lady.

"Hey, man, don't yell at her." he said.

Maka scrambled to stand and she brushed dirt off her coat.

"No, Soul," she said. "it is my fault. I knew he was behind us."

"Damn right you did!" said Spike.

"But I didn't realize Hiro was way behind us." she said. "I was more focused on Zodiac's soul that I didn't notice Hiro wasn't right behind me. I thought he was close by."

Spike, who was caught between a mix of anger and regret, kicked a rock in the street to help subdue his rage. Kicking a rock wouldn't do shit, he knew. Hiro was gone and in the hands of a killer.

"We'll get him back." said Soul. "We just have to find him."

"I can sense his and Zodiac's souls." said Maka. "Hiro seems fine right now."

He didn't want to think about Hiro being fine at the moment and then finding him to "not be fine" later. He would never be able to forgive himself. There was a powerful man putting his hands on an innocent victim, and it pissed him off terribly because he didn't want to endure such pain like that.

Never again, he had told himself.

* * *

Hiro felt a stiffness in his shoulders that woke him up. His head was dizzy, making him nauseous. Only a second ago, he was awake and alert, but this new feeling over him was sickening. He vaguely remembered what happened before he blacked out. He remembered feeling faint, and then he said something but couldn't remember what it was he said.

"Good morning, sunshine."

He perked up a little, still half asleep. It sounded like Spike. He then remembered all he had forgotten: he was calling to Spike.

His eyes opened wide, and inches from his face were big, bright blue eyes. He jumped out of his skin, slipping a high-pitched "Shit!" He tried to sit up, but then he realized he couldn't move his arms. His wrists were being held down by large, bony hands.

"Awake now? That didn't take long." said the blue-eyed figure.

Hearing the very deep voice a second time, it was obvious that this was a stranger to him, and they had a strength that held him down with ease. He had no choice but to lie where he was, unable to move, and stare straight back at the figure. His eyes were sunken in and depressed, yet his blue eyes were bright like the blue sky. A good portion of his head was covered by his black hoodie, but his eyebrows were black and thick. His gray lips dripped a thick drool, which miraculously fell and landed on the street next to Hiro's head.

Hiro shifted his eyes to see his surroundings. He was in an alley, lying next to a dumpster. He tried to bend his knees, but his legs were still weak. His figure on top of him was strong despite seeming thin under his sweatshirt.

"Wh-Who are you?" he dared to ask.

"I have a lot of names," said the figure. "but you can call me Zodiac."

The hairs on the back of his neck stood. He knew it was probably a bad answer he would hear, but he always hoped to hear a better response than the one he think it would be in his head. Hiro then used every muscle in his body to attempt to lift his arms, his back arching as he tried, but he was still stuck under the pale man.

"Oh how touching it is to see you struggle." said Zodiac. He raised Hiro's arms above his head, pinning both his wrists with his left hand. His free right hand moved under his chin, delicately holding it with his forefinger and thumb, and tilting his head up at an angle.

"What are you gonna do to me?" asked Hiro, who thought of the worst outcome. "A-Am I gonna die?"

"Oh no," Zodiac chuckled, his deep voice raspy with a certain thirst. "I won't do that, at least not now."

His thick fingertip trailed to his throat over his Adam's apple. As he did this, the drool on his lip began to increase in the amount falling.

"Such smooth skin," he said. "so fair and soft for a boy."

Hiro's hands began to tremble. His face seemed awfully hungry for flesh. He thought he would be eaten alive by this serial killer looking for young blood to satisfy the glutton. Zodiac's hand returned under Hiro's chin, exposing the underside of his jawline. He looked straight at Zodiac, whose pupils were dilated.

"And those eyes," he added. "such a pretty color."

His drooling mouth opened wide, exposing many sharp teeth. His tongue, insanely longer than it needed to be, slithered out, licking the underside of Hiro's jawline. The said boy's eyes grew in shock at what he was feeling. He tried again to free him wrists, but even with one hand holding both his wrists down he was too weak.

"L-Let me up!" he screamed, his back arching as he squirmed.

"Don't fidget so much." said Zodiac. "You'll spoil it."

* * *

Spike and Soul followed Maka as she jogged down the street, using soul perception to sense where Hiro's soul was located. For whatever reason, she couldn't find his or Zodiac's soul. She didn't know what to make of it, not being able to sense where a soul is located. Spike was nearing his breaking point. For ten minutes, they had been running around like idiots trying to find Hiro, but nothing of him had turned up.

"It'll be alright." said Maka. "We're gonna find him no matter what."

"It can't be like this..." Spike mumbled in frustration. "Why does it have to be him?"

"We'll find him." said Soul. "We should call Lord Death and tell him what's happening."

It was a better idea than wondering what else to do. Maka approached a window to a closed store. She took a deep breath and blew hot breath over the glass, and in the fog on the glass she wrote with her finger numbers.

_42-42-564_

The numbers opened a hologram to the Death Room. They saw an image of Lord Death having a cup of tea. He noticed the hologram and put down his tea to talk.

"Heya! How's it going out there? Did you get yourself a soul yet?"

"No, Lord Death," said Maka. "this is serious. Zodiac kidnapped Hiro; we can't find them."

"Say whaaaaaaaaat?" asked Death. "He has Hiro, is what you're saying?"

"He was walking behind us when it happened." she said. "We've been looking for them, but I can't sense their souls anywhere. It's almost like they're disappeared."

"Oooooooh," Death hummed, instantly understanding what she was saying. "I follow you now. They've 'disappeared,' eh? That may be because of Zodiac."

"How?" everyone asked.

"He has an odd yet effective ability." he said. "The reason he had gotten away with so many murders is because of his soul. He knows how to make it seem 'invisible,' making his wavelengths virtually unreadable, and any soul near him will also be unreadable. If you have been using soul perception the whole time, Maka, then you may not have been able to read Hiro's wavelengths because he was close to Zodiac."

Maka was astonished. "That's possible?" she asked. "You can make someone else's soul invisible?"

"I you have the ability, then yes." said Death.

Spike bumped Maka out of the way and pounded on the window.

"How do we find him!?" he demanded.

"Yes..." said Death, breaking into a cold sweat. "Truthfully, there isn't a concrete way to find him except to keep looking. He is known to kill in narrow areas. Check every alley and building in the city if you have to, and continue to use soul perception. I'll be out there soon to join you."

"Yes, Lord Death," said Maka. "we're on it."

The hologram ended, and she saw was her reflection. She turned to Soul and Spike.

"I'll take the west side of town--"

She realized she was talking only to Soul. In the distance, she could see Spike sprinting like there was no tomorrow.

"Let him do his thing." said Soul.

* * *

"L-Let me up!" whimpered Hiro.

His body shuttered at the slimy sensation under his jawline. His eyes were shut tights, refusing to see what was happening. He was on the verge of crying, feeling humiliated.

"Don't fret," said Zodiac. "consider yourself lucky, little boy. I've never let any of my meals live this long, so be thankful."

_Thankful_!? How could he be thankful for this? He knew he didn't want this. How dare he say he should be "thankful" and to feel "lucky." He didn't feel thankful or lucky, not one bit.

"Let me say," said Zodiac. "that you have lovely features. You have a pretty face."

His tongue slithered up his jaw, smearing thick drool over the lad's left cheek. Hiro nearly threw up by the texture of his tongue on his face.

"And tasty." said Zodiac. "You'd make a great meal, but I think I'll play with you for a bit before dinner."

His tongue ran down the lad's cheek and tasted the fair skin of the base of his neck. This wasn't happening, not to him. He was about to vomit and was still trembling with fear for the end results. He was nothing more to him than a sexual meal that would turn into a literal meal afterwards. He wanted to skip the torture and die--put him out of his misery. His legs trembled against the predator's legs, unable to control the fear in his bones. Zodiac chuckled.

"I like how you tremble." he said, licking his already wet lips. "You're very new to this, I can tell."

Hiro was red from the forehead down to his neck. He had no words left because words wouldn't do him good. His voice was gone due to the swelling in his throat he gained while holding back his tears.

"It will be fine in the end." said Zodiac. "Since you're about to expire, why not enjoy your final moments? I'll be sure to also make it enjoyable for you, too."

Hiro cleared his throat, voice shaken from the abuse.

"You're sick!" he screamed

He wasn't enjoying it to begin with, and he wouldn't enjoy it when it happens, in the middle of it, and when it ends. Nothing would convince him to let himself and his sanity go willingly like this.

"I'll even make your death painless." Zodiac added. "It will be quick and before you realize what's happening. Relax to me, and I'll make the last moment of your life pleasurable."

Saying that was retarded. How could he imagine not dying when he knew he was going to die afterwards? It was impossible for him, and it gave him anxiety thinking about a few moments into the future.

He wouldn't think about it, so he tried distracting himself by thinking of things he liked. He liked many things that seemed normal enough. He liked dark and white chocolate; he loved anything to do with cartoons and popcorn; singing in the shower when no one is home; accessories, which made him think about his earrings and necklaces at home.

He also liked Spike.

His chest tightened. Poor Spike, he thought, probably wondering where his partner could be. Would he find his dismembered remains? Would there be anything left of him to find? He thought it was unfair for this to happen after everything had been going so well these last few weeks. He used to go through the motions, not seeing much value in the day or what he was doing, and then his partner came along, changing his entire life for the better.

It's almost as if he could hear the weapon's voice in his head. That voice... acting all tough but is actually polite and caring when speaking to Hiro. That romantic voice rolled around in his thoughts, soothing part of his anxiety. He wanted to hear it again--just one final time to remember what it truly sounded like before passing over to the other side. He opened his eyes, hearing that voice he wanted to hear in his head. It was so clear and sounded exactly how he remembered it.

"Hiro!"

His eyes opened wider. The voice was now outside his head, hollering as clear as day.

"Hiro!"

His heart pumped faster, delivering hot blood throughout his body. His blood carried a rage inside him he never knew he had: a rage to overpower and dominate. He tried once again to free himself, clenching his fists and flexed the muscles in his arms.

"Dammit, you little shit!" Zodiac hissed. "You better be quiet and stop moving! I'll kill you!"

Hiro shifted his legs under the predator's body, curling them inwards towards his body. He planted his feet on the monster's chest, and with all of the spring in his legs, he shoved his legs out as hard as he could. The hands pinning his wrists lost their grip. Zodiac let out an _oof_ as the wind was knocked out of his lungs. His back collided with the dumpster, the metal siding ricocheting and erupting with metal noises.

"Hiro!"

Hiro scrambled to get on his feet, already running out to the street where he was being called to.

"Spike!"


End file.
